Chintamoni Kar

2021-06-03T04:56:30Z

103.52.247.178:

{{Short description|Indian sculptor, (1915 – 2005)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chintamoni Kar
| image = Chintamoni Kar.jpg
| alt = 
| caption =
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|04|19}}
| birth_place = [[Kharagpur]], [[British India]] (present-day [[Paschim Medinipur district]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|10|03|1915|04|19}}
| death_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| nationality = [[India|Indian]]
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| alma_mater = [[Académie de la Grande Chaumière]]
| awards = [[Padma Bhushan]]
| module =
{{MedalTop}}
{{MedalSport | [[Art competitions at the Summer Olympics|Art competitions]]}}
{{MedalSilver | [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]] | [[Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics|Mixed Sculpturing, Statues]]}}
{{MedalBottom}}
}}
'''Chintamoni Kar''' (19 April 1915 – 3 October 2005) was a renowned<ref name="TelInd">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051004/asp/nation/story_5317879.asp|title=Chintamoni Kar passes away|publisher=The Telegraph Calcutta, India|date=3 October 2005|access-date=1 August 2012}}</ref> [[India]]n sculptor. He received civilian awards from the Indian and French governments and won an Olympic silver medal on behalf of Great Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/920497 |title=Chintamoni Kar |work=Olympedia |access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref>

==Personal life and studies==
Born on 19 April 1915 in [[Kharagpur]], [[West Bengal]],<ref name="SR">{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ka/chintamoni-kar-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417231616/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ka/chintamoni-kar-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|title=Chintamoni Kar|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=1 August 2012}}</ref> Kar trained at the Indian Society of Oriental Art run by [[Abanindranath Tagore]]. He was taught to sculpt by [[Giridhari Mahapatra]] and [[Victor Giovanelli]].<ref name="Open">{{cite web|url=http://www8.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/chintamoni-kar|title=Chintamoni Kar|publisher=The Open University|access-date=1 August 2012}}</ref>

Kar moved to Paris in 1938 where he studied at the [[Académie de la Grande Chaumière]] before moving back to India.<ref name="Saffron">{{cite web|url=http://www.saffronart.com/artist/artistprofile.aspx?artistid=223|title=Chintamoni Kar|publisher=Saffron Art|access-date=1 August 2012}}</ref>

Chintamoni Kar was married to Amina Ahmed Kar, who was herself an artist, and her works were largely non-figurative and abstract. The couple had one child. Both members of his family died before Chintamoni, who died on 3 October 2005 in a private hospital at the age of 90.<ref name="TelInd" />

==Style and career==
Kar sculpted with a variety a materials including wood, terracotta, stone, and metal. He was initially trained in an academic and representational style but also produced work of a more abstract nature.<ref name="TelInd" />

Kar taught at the [[University of Calcutta]] and the Delhi Polytechnic and then, in 1946, moved to London where he became a member of the [[Royal Society of British Sculptors]].<ref name="Open" /><ref name="Saffron" /> He returned to West Bengal in 1956 and was then elected as Principal of the [[Government College of Art & Craft]].<ref name="Saffron" />

==Honours and awards==
In 1974 he was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]], the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India.<ref name="Open" /><ref name="Saffron" /> He was also decorated with France's highest civilian honour in 2000.<ref name="Open" />

[[Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary]] was named after the sculptor after he and other people from the local area fought for it to receive wildlife sanctuary status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildbengal.com/urls/pa_san_chintamoni.htm|title=Chintamoni Kar Wild Life Sanctuary|publisher=Wild Bengal|access-date=1 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402225324/http://www.wildbengal.com/urls/pa_san_chintamoni.htm|archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref>

At the [[1948 Summer Olympics]] Kar, entered as a competitor for India, won the silver medal for his work entitled ''The Stag''.<ref name="SR" /> Held in London, the 1948 Games were the final ones to include [[art competitions at the Summer Olympics|art competitions]] and the [[International Olympic Committee]] no longer recognise the medals.

==Bhaskar Bhavan Administration & Maintenance Trust==
Shortly before his death in 2005 Kar instituted the Bhaskar Bhavan Administration & Maintenance Trust at his residential campus in [[Narendrapur]], [[Kolkata]]. It became a public museum on 19 April 2006, what would have been his 91st birthday, and houses the artist's works as well as those of his wife. The trust is active in the verification and documentation of his works along with his collection of books. It also aids poor students in the local area and holds the annual Chintamoni Kar Memorial lecture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.calcuttayellowpages.com/adver/109528museum.html|title=Bhaskar Bhavan Administration & Maintenance Trust|publisher=Calcutta Yellow Pages|access-date=1 August 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.artnet.com/artists/chintamoni-kar/past-auction-results Past Auction Results for Chintamoni Kar] at ArtNet

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1970–79}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kar, Chintamoni}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian male sculptors]]
[[Category:People from Paschim Medinipur district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta faculty]]
[[Category:Indian arts administrators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian sculptors]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for India]]
[[Category:Olympic competitors in art competitions]]

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Chintamoni Kar