Nandalal Bose (1882- 1966)

Born in Kharagpur, Bihar in 1882, Nandalal Bose was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a significant figure of Contextual Modernism. He became the Principal of Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan in 1921 and taught some of the greatest artists of the 20th century including K.G. Subramanyan, Benode Behari Mukherjee, Ramkinkar Baij and Satyajit Ray, to name a few. In his artistic practice, Bose was greatly influenced by the Tagore family, E. B. Havell, A. K. Coomaraswamy and Mahatma Gandhi. He was recognized not only for his paintings and murals, and his role as a pedagogue but also for his postcard drawings, the renderings of plays by Rabindranath Tagore, and for his designing and execution of the venues of the Indian National Congress conventions in Lucknow, Faizpur and Haripura from 1935 to 1938. Although he had already gained international recognition as a modern artist, his association with Gandhi elevated him to the position of a national icon. Moreover, he was entrusted with the task of designing and illustrating the original manuscript of the Constitution of India, creating 22 unique illustrations depicting scenes from India's historical and cultural past. In 1954, he was honored with the Padma Vibhushan award.

Nandalal Bose passed away on 16th April 1966, at the age of 83 in Calcutta.