An English Teacher
by Krishen Khanna (b. 1925)
dated: 2001
Mixed media on paper
24 x 18 in. (61 x 45.5 cm.)
Krishen Khanna was born in 1925 in what is now Faislabad in Pakistan, he grew up in Lahore. He studied art after he graduated from college at evening classes held at the Mayo School of Art. In 1947, Khanna’s family moved to Shimla as a result of the partition, he was deeply affected by not only the change in his personal life, but also the socio-political chaos that reigned around him. His early works are reproductions of the scenes that were indelibly imprinted in his memory during this period.
A job with Grindlays Bank brought Khanna to Bombay where he was invited to be a part of the Progressive Artists’ Group. Most of Khanna’s work are figurative. He captures moments in history, transfers his observations onto the canvas with spontaneity and exuberance, keeping the representational elements of his subject matter intact. The artist’s use of colour and his expressionist brushwork make the mundane rise to the challenge of the creative. This portrait is of Miss Amery who was the artists’ English teacher.