Photographs – Page 24 – The Indian Portrait

K H Ara

K H Ara (1914-1985) Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, 1967 Krishnaji Howlaji Ara was born in Bolarum, Secunderabad in April 1914. He was the son of a chauffeur and ran away to Mumbai at the age of seven. He was a self-taught artist who struggled with poverty and made a living by cleaning cars. He was […]

K K Hebbar

K K Hebbar (1911-1996) Sankho Chaudhuri’s residence, Vadodara, 1957-59 Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar was born in South Karnataka in a village called Kittingiri in 1911. His father making clay idols during festivals, inspired the young child to make toys and develop an inclination towards the arts. He would also try to replicate the mythological images of […]

N S Bendre

N S Bendre (1910-1992) Adhyapak Niwas, Vadodara, 1958 Narayan Shridhar Bendre was born in 1910 in Indore, where he received his diploma in painting from the State Art School in 1929. He then received a Government Diploma in Art from Mumbai in 1933 and studied print making in New York from 1947 to 1950, under […]

Jagan Mehta

Jagan Mehta (1909-2003) Mehta residence, Ahmedabad, 1990 Jagan Mehta was born in 1909 into a family of Ayurveda physicians, in Sanand – Ahmedabad. However he was interested in painting from his school days, doing art work in both pencil and colour. Post failing his matriculation examination in 1929, he expressed his desire to his father […]

Ramkinkar Baij

Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980) Baij residence, Santiniketan, 1978 Ramkinkar Baij, was born in 1906 in Bankura, West Bengal in a humble family. He was spotted by the journalist Ramananda Chatterjee who inducted him to Kala Bhavana. Baij soon mastered every medium – Sculptures, Oil paintings, Portraits & Miniatures. He worked under Nandalal Bose and Rabindranath Tagore […]