Born in Bangalore to the illustrious K. C. S. Paniker, the father of the Madras Art Movement and the visionary behind Cholamandal Artists’ Village, S. Nandagopal’s tryst with art, unsurprisingly, began early on. Just like his father, Nandagopal’s work was a synthesis of tradition and modernity. Learn More
Born in Mysore, S. G. Vasudev completed his diploma in fine arts, from Government College of Art and Craft, Madras, in 1968, where he was deeply influenced by artist-teacher K. C. S. Paniker. While still a student, he won Lalit Kala Akademi’s national award in 1967. Learn More
Ram Kumar was born in Simla on 23 September 1924. Completing his master’s in economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, he attended evening classes at Sarada Ukil School of Art, where he learnt the ‘Western style’ of painting under Sailoz Mookherjea. Learn More
Born in 1910 in Pabna, in present-day Bangladesh, Radha Charan Bagchi graduated from College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta, in traditional Indian art, oil painting, and Western academism. Abanindranath Tagore, Mukul Dey and other Bengal masters were major influences but Bagchi evolved his own artistic style. In 1951, he joined Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, as teacher, officiating twice as its principal in subsequent years. Learn More
Born in Dacca (now Dhaka) in present-day Bangladesh, Prodosh Das Gupta studied sculpture under Hiranmoy Roy Chowdhary at the Lucknow School of Arts and Crafts (1932-33), and under D. P. Roy Chowdhury at Government School of Art and Craft, Madras (1933-37). Over the next two years, he studied bronze casting at LCC Central School, London, and sculpture at Royal Academy of Arts, London, and Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris. He returned to India in 1940 and set up his studio in Calcutta. He subsequently taught at M. S. University, Baroda, and at Calcutta’s Government College of Arts and Crafts. Learn More
Drawn to art through the pages of the Bengali art journal Prabasi, Paritosh Sen ran away from his home in Dacca (Dhaka), now in Bangladesh, to learn art in Madras. Learn More
Hailing from an artistic family based in Bombay, P. Khemraj was fascinated with manifestations of all things fine in every aspect of life. On completion of his training in drawing and painting at Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, Khemraj, a fine violinist, left for New Delhi to learn the sitar from Pandit Ravi Shankar. Learn More
Born in Shivpur Diyar in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, Muni Singh studied at College of Art, Lucknow. In 1963, he received formal training in fresco-making from Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan. A contemporary of Badri Nath Arya, R. S. Bisht, and Sanat Chatterjee, Singh’s preferred medium was watercolour. He mastered the miniature style of painting—Mughal, Rajput, and Pahari—and translated it into his own idiom and technique. Learn More
Born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Manu Parekh studied at Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay. With influences as varied as Arshile Gorky, Roberto Matta, S. B. Palsikar and Rabindranath Tagore, Parekh has always sought to explore his inner landscape through art. Learn More
Born in Dhuri, Punjab, Manjit Bawa was encouraged by his brothers to pursue art and he studied at Delhi Polytechnic from 1958-63 under eminent artist-teachers Somnath Hore, Dhanraj Bhagat, B. C. Sanyal, and Abani Sen. He moved to England in 1964, where he worked as a silkscreen printmaker and studied at London School of Painting. Learn More
A watercolourist par excellence known for his paintings on silk, Maniklal Banerjee was born in Borisal in present-day Bangladesh. He studied at Government College of Art in Calcutta and while still a student, became the first Indian artist to receive the Government of India’s scholarship for the arts. Learn More
Possibly the most popular academic Indian artist after Raja Ravi Varma, M. V. Dhurandhar was born in Kolhapur. An early interest in drawing led his father to admit him to Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, where he received special encouragement from its principal, John Griffiths. Learn More