Born in Margao, Goa, on 21 January 1926, Laxman Pai studied and later taught at Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay. He participated in Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement against the British rule that led to his imprisonment. Later, he participated in the movement to liberate Goa from centuries of Portuguese rule. Learn More
Growing up in Dehradun, Latika Katt learnt to observe everything closely through the numerous trekking expeditions she took with her botanist father. She completed her bachelor’s in fine arts from Banaras Hindu University and later completed her master’s from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M. S. University, Baroda, in 1971. Interestingly, hers was the first art degree batch of the prestigious institution and she was the first female student to receive a gold medal in sculpture from the university. Later, in 1981, she received a research scholarship from the Slade School of Art, London. Learn More
Born in Suri, Bengal, in 1937, Lalu Prasad Shaw obtained a diploma in painting from the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta, in 1959. Despite training in Company School art, traditional Kalighat pats and Ajanta cave frescos, Shaw evolved his distinctive style to work in watercolours and oil. His teachers were some of the leading artists of the time, such as Gopal Ghose, Rathin Maitra, and Maniklal Banerjee. Learn More
Born in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, on 15 July 1925, Krishna Reddy is best remembered for pioneering the simultaneous colour printing technique, or the colour viscosity process, along with S. W. Hayter, in Paris. His journey to that seminal moment in Paris was preceded by a stint at Santiniketan, studying under Nandalal Bose (1942-47), and then, as head of the art section at Kalakshetra, Madras (1947-50). Learn More
Born in Lyallpur in pre-Partition Punjab, Krishen Khanna grew up in Lahore. He studied at Imperial Service College, England, from 1938-42 as a Rudyard Kipling scholar. Returning to Lahore for a course in English literature at the Government College, he simultaneously took evening classes at the Mayo School of Art. Khanna briefly worked as a printer at Kapur Art Press, Lahore, before his family moved to Simla upon Partition. He worked at the Grindlays Bank in Bombay and Madras from 1946-61, subsequently resigning from his job to devote himself to art. Learn More
Khagen Roy hailed from Medinipur in present-day West Bengal and came to Calcutta to study art. However, he left the Government School of Art in Calcutta as well as the College of Arts and Crafts in Lucknow dissatisfied with their curriculum. A chance encounter with painter and sculptor D. P. Roy Chowdhury convinced him to join the Government College of Art and Craft, Madras. Learn More
Maiya and Musui—the thinly-fluted male and female bronze figures, often swaying or leaping in joy—are perhaps as well-known as their creator, K. S. Radhakrishnan. One of the most significant contemporary sculptors, Radhakrishnan often refers to the bronze characters as his alter egos. Learn More
Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar, born on 15 June 1911 near Udupi in Karnataka, showed an inclination for the arts from his childhood—his father used to make Ganesha idols. Learn More
Born in Kerala on 15 February 1924, K. G. Subramanyan was studying economics at the Presidency College, Madras, when he joined India’s struggle for freedom, and was imprisoned and debarred from government colleges. 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
Known for exploring the mysteries of life beyond the realm of logic through his art, Jai Zharotia was born in Delhi in 1945. He studied fine arts at the Delhi College of Art from 1967-71 and went on to teach at his alma mater for over three decades. Accessible and non-dogmatic as a teacher, he was popular among students. Learn More
Master printmaker Harendra Narayan Das, popularly known as Haren Das, was born in Dinajpur in present day Bangladesh on 1 February 1921. He took a diploma in fine art, with specialisation in graphic arts, from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta, in 1938. He worked almost exclusively in printmaking at a time when oil painting ruled popular consciousness and prints were considered inferior. Learn More