Born in Lahore in British India, Dhanraj Bhagat acquired a diploma in sculpture from the city’s Mayo College of Art. He began working with clay while studying but it left him uninspired as he found little individuality in its amorphous nature. It was when he got his hands on wood with its uniquely tactile qualities that he felt inspired to carve and create. Learn More
Devraj Dakoji was born in Dharmaji Gudem village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to a family of Ayurveda practitioners. Picking herbs for his father every morning before going to school proved to be a lasting influence in Dakoji’s life, making nature the leitmotif of his art. Learn More
Exemplifying the art of the now-forgotten Bombay School, which was based on realism, or naturalism, as taught by the British, D. C. Joglekar was one of the finest artists who captured India’s panoramic landscapes along with her glorious architectural wonders, including temples, monuments, and archaeological sites. Learn More
Chintamoni Kar, one of the foremost modern sculptors of India, was born on 19 April 1915 in Kharagpur. He trained initially in sculpture with Giridhari Mahapatra, a traditional Oriya sthapati or temple-carver, and learnt painting under Kshitindranath Mazumdar at the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta. Learn More
Born in Tellicherry, Kerala, Catfield Douglas belongs to the third generation of artists associated with the Madras Art Movement. Moving in the early 1990s to Cholamandal Artists’ Village, set up by K. C. S. Paniker, Douglas’s works are considered both expressionist and anthropocentric. Learn More
Co-founder of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Bose Krishnamachari was born in Magattukara village, Kerala, and came into prominence in the 1990s, after graduating from Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, at a time when India was experiencing economic liberalisation. Learn More
One of the first few artists to experiment in the medium of enamelling, Bishamber Khanna was born in Peshawar and studied at Forman Christian College, Lahore, now in Pakistan. Learn More
Born to a family of artists in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, on 3 June 1890, Baburao Painter was a self-taught artist who excelled in both oil painting and sculpture. His skill in painting earned him the nickname ‘Painter’. His excellence in traditional sculpture is evident in the large statue he made of Mahatma Gandhi, installed in Kolhapur. Learn More
Taking up art early, Anjolie Ela Menon had sold her first painting by the age of fifteen. Of mixed Bengali and American parentage, Menon was born in Burnpur in West Bengal in 1940. Learn More
It was a radical shift for the commerce and art graduate Amit Ambalal, born in a Gujarati business family, to give up the family’s textile business in order to pursue painting. Learn More
Abanindranath Tagore was born on 7 August 1871 at Jorasanko, the sprawling mansion of the Tagore family in Calcutta, as the son of artist Gunendranath Tagore and nephew of the Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Learn More
Abdulrahim Appabhai Almelkar was born on 10 October 1920 in Solapur, Maharashtra. He graduated from Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, in 1948, and during his student years, won many prizes for his works. Learn More