Born on 26 March 1934 in the village of Valod, Gujarat, Haku Shah absorbed deeply the way of life, culture and beliefs of the pastoral and the folk, which he amply manifested in his works. This understanding also moulded him into a cultural anthropologist who brought global academic focus on tribal and folk arts and culture of India. Learn More
Born in Saurashtra, Gujarat, on 16 February 1937, painter, poet, art critic and historian Gulammohammed Sheikh has been a seminal presence on the modern Indian art scene for several decades now. Sheikh obtained a master’s degree in painting from M. S. University, Baroda, in 1961, and studied at the Royal College of Art, London, from 1963-69, on a Commonwealth scholarship. Learn More
An ‘India wanderer’, as he liked to call himself, Gopal Ghose spent his formative years away from Calcutta, where he was born on 5 December 1913. His art training began at the Maharaja School of Arts, Jaipur. From 1935-38, Ghose studied at the Government College of Art and Craft, Madras. Once, while painting on the Marina beach in Madras, he caught the attention of C. Rajagopalachari—statesman, activist, writer and leader of the Indian National Congress—who offered to arrange his further studies abroad, which the college authorities, however, did not permit. Learn More
Born in Uttar Pradesh in 1945, Gogi Saroj Pal studied art in Banasthali, Rajasthan, took a diploma at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Lucknow, and a postgraduate diploma in painting from the College of Art, New Delhi. Learn More
Born Gulam Rasool Dar in a Shia Muslim family in Srinagar in Kashmir on 20 June 1929, the artist took on his wife’s Hindu name ‘Santosh’ as his own, in a move opposing patriarchy and religion. His father’s death forced a young Gulam to work as a signboard painter, papier-mâché artist, and weaver. He learnt to paint watercolour landscapes from Dina Nath Raina in Kashmir before studying under N. S. Bendre at M. S. University, Baroda, on the recommendation of S. H. Raza. In Baroda, he produced a large body of figurative and landscape works, mainly in the cubist style. Learn More
A self-taught artist, poet, storyteller, and an active member of the Communist Party of India, Chittaprosad was born on 21 June 1915. He drew inspiration from village sculptors, artisans and puppeteers. Learn More
Born in Calcutta, Bipin Behari Goswami studied at the city's Government College of Arts and Crafts, from where he graduated in 1956 with a diploma in sculpture and modelling. Learn More
Born in a middle-class Bengali family on 21 June 1940, Bikash Bhattacharjee gathered his visual and intellectual ideals from the politically charged atmosphere of Calcutta during his growing up years. Learn More
Born on 7 February 1904, in Behala, Bengal, Benode Behari Mukherjee joined Santiniketan in 1917, and Kala Bhavana in 1919, where he was one of the first students of Nandalal Bose. A congenitally impaired vision that denied him normal schooling and resulted in a lonely childhood, brought him close to nature and had a deep impact on his art. Learn More
Born in Nagpur, B. Prabha became an artist at a time when not many Indian women practiced it as a profession. She studied at the Nagpur School of Art and obtained a diploma from Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, in 1955. Learn More
Born in a well-to-do business family in Peshawar in present-day Pakistan, B. N. Arya showed an inclination towards the arts since childhood. Learn More
Born in Simla on 28 August 1931, Avinash Chandra studied painting at Delhi Polytechnic, where he also taught for a few years. His students included Paramjit Singh and Arpita Singh, who would go on to make a name for themselves in later years. Learn More