Born in Purulia in West Bengal, Sunil Madhav Sen was a self-taught artist. Though he learned drawing as a child from a local teacher, he studied law and the liberal arts at Calcutta University and worked for the government. He pursued his passion for art privately alongside his legal practise, visiting the studios of Abanindranath Tagore, Atul Bose, J. P. Gangooly, and Satish Sinha. He also apprenticed for two years under Hemendranath Mazumdar, honing his skills in portrait painting. Learn More
One of India’s most important post-modernist painters, Sunil Das is known for his iconic drawings and paintings of horses and bulls. He rose to prominence early when he became the only Indian artist to win the Lalit Kala Akademi’s national award while still an undergraduate student, in 1959. Learn More
Born in New Delhi on 4 June 1961, Subba Ghosh has carved a niche for himself with art that overturns reality to show a mirror to society’s lived hyperreality, through paintings, prints, animation, installations, puppets, and video art. Ghosh’s mirror throws not just a passive light on reality but also makes a critical, political comment on issues such as the relationship between the state and its subjects. Learn More
Born in a family of limited means, Shanti Dave grew up in a village called Badpura in north Gujarat. Moving later to Ahmedabad, he earned a living by painting signboards and billboards for films before enrolling at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. University, Baroda, where he studied under eminent artist-teacher N. S. Bendre, completing his graduation (1950-56) and post piploma in Fine Art (1956-58). Learn More
Born on 15 August 1894 in the north Calcutta neighbourhood of Nather Bagan, Satish Sinha showed an aptitude for the arts since childhood. He enrolled at the Government School of Art at the age of eighteen as a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore. However, he had to give up studying within three years due to his father’s death. He joined an insurance company as an agent to earn his livelihood but continued to study painting privately. Learn More
Born in Baler in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district in 1905, Ramgopal Vijaivargiya developed a keen interest in painting at an early age, initiated by a wandering sadhu of the Ram Snehi sect. He joined Maharaja School of Art and Craft in Jaipur, where Asit Kumar Haldar was principal. 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
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 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
Laxman Narain Taskar’s paintings mirror the ideals of academic realism introduced by the British within their art education system. Indian artists were trained in naturalism, with lessons in soft effects of chiaroscuro and the three-dimensionality of the external world. History painting, perspective, and the copying of Victorian portraits became a vital ingredient within these art schools. Learn More
Born on 12 March 1934 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, Jyoti Bhatt studied painting and printmaking at M. S. University, Baroda. Inspired by his mentor, artist K. G. Subramanyan, Bhatt explored the academic divide between art and craft. Learn More