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{{Short description|Indian sculptor, (1917–1988)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dhanraj Bhagat
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = 1917
| birth_place = [[Lahore]], [[British India]]
| death_date = 1988
| death_place =
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername =
| occupation = Sculptor
| yearsactive =
| known for =
| spouse =
| domesticpartner =
| children =
| parents =
| website = {{website|http://artistdhanrajbhagat.com|Official website}}
| awards = [[Padma Shri]]<br>Lalit Kala Akademi Award<br>Delhi Sahitya Kala Parishad Award<br>Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata Gold Medal<br>Bombay Art Society Award
}}

'''Dhanraj Bhagat''' (1917-1988) was an Indian sculptor,<ref name="Dhanraj Bhagat">{{cite web | url=http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/sculptures-statues-figures/dhanraj-bhagat-untitled-5807479-details.aspx | title=Dhanraj Bhagat | publisher=Christie's The Art People | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Blouin Artinfo profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.blouinartinfo.com/artists/21530-dhanraj-bhagat | title=Blouin Artinfo profile | publisher=Blouin Artinfo | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> considered by many as one of the major sculptors of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio">{{cite web | url=http://www.saffronart.com/artists/dhanraj-bhagat | title=Saffron Art Gallery Bio | publisher=Saffron Art Gallery | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Dhanraj Bhagat Sculpture Park">{{cite web | url=http://www.bbk.ac.uk/sculptureparks/by-location/asia/india | title=Dhanraj Bhagat Sculpture Park | publisher=Birkbeck University of London | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> He was born in 1917 in Lahore, in the erstwhile [[British India]] and secured a diploma in sculpture from the [[National College of Arts]] (formerly known as Mayo School of Art), Lahore.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" /><ref name="Kumar Gallery Bio">{{cite web | url=http://kumargallery.com/new/bio/dhanrajbhagat.htm | title=Kumar Gallery Bio | publisher=Kumar Gallery | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> His career started as a member of the faculty at the [[College of Art, Delhi]] in 1947 where he rose to the position of the head of the Sculpture Department by the time of his retirement in 1977.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" />

Bhagat participated in the first three Triennales staged in India, The All India Sculpture Exhibition in 1954 and many exhibitions held at galleries such as [[Bombay Art Society]], the [[Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata]], and the [[All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society]], New Delhi. The [[Lalit Kala Akademi]] hosted a retrospective of Bhagat in 1978<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" /> and his works are exhibited at the [[National Gallery of Modern Art]], among other art galleries.<ref name="Showcase - Modern Sculptures">{{cite web | url=http://ngmaindia.gov.in/sh-modern-sculpture.asp | title=Showcase - Modern Sculptures | publisher=National Gallery of Modern Art | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> Though he worked on several media like papier-mache, aluminium, copper and stone, most of his known works are in wood and is characterized by their geometric shapes.<ref name="Foundation of sculpture park to be laid today">{{cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Foundation-of-sculpture-park-to-be-laid-today/articleshow/6750768.cms | title=Foundation of sculpture park to be laid today | publisher=Times of India | date=15 October 2010 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> He also produced many drawings towards the later part of his life.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" />

Bhagat was the first prize winner at two art competitions conducted by Punjab Fine Arts Society, Lahore in 1937 and 1945 and he won the first prize at two more competitions by [[All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society]] in 1947 and 1949.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" /> He received the [[Bombay Art Society]] award twice, in 1948 and 1949, and the Gold Medal from [[Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata]] in 1948.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" /> [[Lalit Kala Akademi]], New Delhi awarded him their national honour in 1961 and he received the state award from the [[Sahitya Kala Parishad]], Delhi in 1969.<ref name="Saffron Art Gallery Bio" /> He was awarded the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] by the [[Government of India]] in 1977.<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Shri |publisher=Padma Shri |date=2015 |access-date=18 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 }}</ref>

Dhanraj Bhagat died in 1988 at the age of 71.<ref name="Kumar Gallery Bio" /> The Government College of Art, [[Chandigarh]], an offshoot of the former Mayo School of Art where Bhagat did his art training, established a sculpture park at its premises in 2010, named after the alumni.<ref name="Dhanraj Bhagat Sculpture Park Inaugurated">{{cite web | url=http://www.theindiapost.com/nation/chandigarh/dhanraj-bhagat-sculpture-park-inaugurated/ | title=Dhanraj Bhagat Sculpture Park Inaugurated | publisher=India Post | date=15 October 2010 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref> Some of Bhagat's works are on display at Government Museum, Chandigarh.<ref name="Asia’s contemporary sculpture parks">{{cite web | url=http://artradarjournal.com/2012/11/06/asias-contemporary-sculpture-parks-20-gardens-13-countries/ | title=Asia’s contemporary sculpture parks | publisher=Art Radar | date=2015 | access-date=27 June 2015}}</ref>

==See also==

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[National College of Arts|National College of Arts, Lahore]]
* [[College of Art, Delhi]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web | url=https://artcontemporaryindian.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/dhanraj-bhagat/ | title=Dhanraj Bhagat - Profile and Images | publisher=Contemporary Indian Art | date=10 July 2014 | access-date=27 June 2015}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagat, Dhanraj}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian male sculptors]]
[[Category:People from Lahore]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi]]
[[Category:National College of Arts alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian sculptors]]

{{India-artist-stub}}

Dhanraj Bhagat - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 19:24, 13 August 2023