imported>Monkbot at 12:02, 1 January 2021

2021-01-01T12:02:58Z

New page

{{short description|Indian painter, sculptor, muralist, printmaker, writer and academic (1924-2016)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = K. G. Subramanyan
| image = K.G. Subramanyan 2008.jpg
| caption = K.G. Subramanyan 2008.
| birth_date = 1924<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Masterpieces & museum quality III: Indian contemporary paintings with rare books & vintage film memorabilia|author=Tuli, N.|date=2004|publisher=OSIAN's|isbn=9781890206703|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQHqAAAAMAAJ|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Kuthuparamba]], [[Kerala]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2016|06|29|1924|02|15}}<ref name="Modern art pioneer KG Subramanyan, 92, passes away in Vadodara on 29 June">{{cite news | url=http://www.firstpost.com/living/modern-art-pioneer-kg-subramanyan-92-passes-away-in-vadodara-on-29-june-2863592.html | title=Modern art pioneer KG Subramanyan, 92, passes away in Vadodara on 29 June | publisher=First Post | date=29 June 2016 | access-date=29 June 2016}}</ref>
| death_place = [[Vadodra]], [[Gujarat]], India
| occupation = Painter, sculptor, [[muralist]], [[printmaker]], writer, academic
| education = [[Visva-Bharati University]]
| alma_mater = Visva-Bharati University
| movement = [[Contextual Modernism]], [[Baroda Group]]<ref>{{cite web |title=His name is listed as Baroda Group of Artists' fifth annual exhibition of paintings by |url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/collection/search/archive/ratan-parimoo-archive-baroda-group-of-artists-fifth-annual-exhibition-of-paintings-1961-1962/object/notes-regarding-baroda-group-of-artists-fifth-annual-exhibition-of-paintings-28711 |publisher=[[Asia Art Archive]]}}</ref>
| awards = [[Padma Shree]], [[Kalidas Samman]], [[Padma Bhushan]], [[Padma Vibhushan]]
}}

'''Kalpathi Ganpathi "K.G." Subramanyan''' (1924 {{endash}} 29 June 2016) was an Indian artist. He was awarded the [[Padma Vibhushan]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=79881|title= Padma Awards|publisher=pib|date= 27 January 2013 |access-date= 27 January 2013 }}</ref>

==Life==

Subramanyan was born in 1924 in [[Kuthuparamba]]<ref name="google2">{{cite book|title=Masterpieces and museum-quality Indian modern & contemporary paintings|author=Tuli, N.|date=2002|publisher=Osian's|isbn=9788190124751|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5nrAAAAMAAJ|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref><ref name="google3">{{cite book|title=Sketches, Scribbles, Drawings|author=Subramanyan, K.G.|date=1999|publisher=Seagull Books|isbn=9788170461500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lfnVAAAAMAAJ|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> in [[Kerala]], India,<ref name="contemporaryindianart.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.contemporaryindianart.com/k_g__subramanyam.htm|publisher=contemporaryindianart.com|title=K.G. Subramanyam|access-date=9 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018011748/http://www.contemporaryindianart.com/k_g__subramanyam.htm|archive-date=18 October 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and initially studied economics at [[Presidency College, Madras]].<ref name="contemporaryindianart.com"/> During the [[Indian Independence movement|freedom struggle]] he was actively involved and was known for his [[M.K. Gandhi|Gandhian]] ideology. He was even imprisoned and later banned from joining government colleges during the [[British Raj|British Rule]]. The turning point of his life, as an artist, came when he visited [[Santiniketan]] to study in [[Kala Bhavan]], the art faculty of [[Visva Bharati University]], in the year 1944. Under the tutelage of such pioneers of modern Indian art as [[Nandalal Bose]], [[Benode Behari Mukherjee]] and [[Ramkinkar Baij]], Subramanyan studied there till 1948.

In 1951 he became a lecturer at the [[Faculty of Fine Arts]] in [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda|M.S. University]] in [[Baroda]]. He went to study briefly in London at the [[Slade School of Art]] as a [[British Council]] scholar in 1956. While having already gone back to Baroda as a professor in painting and continuing there, he did a short stint in New York as a [[Rockefeller Fellow]] in 1966.<ref name="contemporaryindianart">{{cite web|url=http://www.contemporaryindianart.com/k_g__subramanyam.htm|publisher=contemporaryindianart.com|title=K. G. Subramanyam|access-date=9 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018011748/http://www.contemporaryindianart.com/k_g__subramanyam.htm|archive-date=18 October 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 1980, Subramanyan went back to Santiniketan to teach in his alma mater Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University, in his capacity as a professor in painting, which he continued till he retired in 1989. In the same year, he was made a Professor Emeritus of Visva Bharati.

Subramanyan resided in [[Baroda]], with his daughter Uma, towards the later days of his life and it was here that he died on 29 June 2016.<ref name="Modern art pioneer KG Subramanyan, 92, passes away in Vadodara on 29 June" />

== Artistic styles and Influences ==
K.G. Subramanyan was greatly influenced by folk art from Kerala, Kalighat painting and Pattachitra from Bengal and Odisha, as well as Indian court paintings.

==Retrospective show==
{{main|K.G. Subramanyan, a Retrospective}}
There have been numerous retrospective shows of K.G. Subramanyan.
''K.G. Subramanyan, a Retrospective'' was the fourth and largest, curated by [[R. Siva Kumar]] at the [[National Gallery of Modern Art]].<ref name="frontline">{{cite web|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2009/stories/20030509000807900.htm|publisher=frontline.in|title=The quintessential Indian artist|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
{{prose|date=October 2013}}
From 1951 to 59 Mr. Subramanyan was the Lecturer in Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda. He was the British Council Research Scholar, UK from 1955–56. He was Deputy Director (design), All India Handloom Board, Bombay from 1959 to 61 and Reader in Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda from 1961 to 65.

* 1966–80 Professor of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda
* 1961–66 Design Consultant, All India
* 1966–67 Fellowship of The JDR III Fund, New York
* 1968–74 Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda
* 1975 Elected to the World Crafts Council
* Delegate, Asian Assembly, World Craft Council, Sydney
* 1976 Member delegate, General Assembly, World Craft Council, Oaxtepec, Mexico
* Visiting lecturer, Canadian universities: Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton
* 1977–78 Visiting Fellow, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan
* 1980–89 Professor of Painting, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan
* 1985 Guest, Chinese Artists Association, China
* 1987–88 Christensen Fellow, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford
* 1989 Professor Emeritus, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan
* 2004 Left Santiniketan and shifted back to Baroda in September.

==Honours and awards==
[[File:27 june 2015 K. G. Subramanyam (Drawing) Saraswat award.jpg|thumb|[[Kumarpal Desai]] presenting the [[Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award]] to Subramanyan on 27 June 2015]]
* 1963: Medallion of Honourable Mention, [[Sao Paulo Biennale]], Brazil
* 1965: National Award, [[Lalit Kala Akademi]]
* 1968: [[Gold Medal]], The First International Triennale, New Delhi
* 1975: [[Padma Shri]], Government of India<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>
* 1991: Gagan-Aban Puraskar, [[Visva-Bharati University]], Santiniketan
* 1992: [[D.Litt.]] (Honoris Causa), [[Rabindra Bharati University]], Calcutta
* 2006: Awarded [[Padma Bhushan]] by the Government of India<ref name="Padma Awards" />
* 2009: Awarded [[Dishikottam]], Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan
* 2011: Awarded D.Litt. (Honoris Causa), [[Assam University]], [[Silchar]].
* 2012: Awarded the [[Padma Vibhushan]] by the Government of India<ref name="Padma Awards" />
* 2015: Awarded the [[Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award]]<ref name="The Times of India 2015">{{cite web|title=K G Subramanyan awarded Savyasachi Award| website=The Times of India|date=28 June 2015|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/K-G-Subramanyan-awarded-Savyasachi-Award/articleshow/47848888.cms|access-date=15 July 2010}}</ref>

==Memberships and associations==

* 1961–67 All India Board of Technical Studies in Applied Art
* 1961–65 Gujarat [[Lalit Kala Akademi]]
* 1967–79 [[Lalit Kala Akademi]]
* 1968–74 Gujarat Lalit Kala Akademi
* 1974–78 Member of the Governing Council, [[National Institute of Design]], Ahmedabad
* 1981–84 Member Siksha-samiti and Karma-samiti of [[Visva Bharati]], [[Santiniketan]]
* 1981–84 Member of the [[All India Handloom and Handicrafts Board]]

He has also been on the Board of studies of M.S. University, Baroda; Benaras Hindu University, Benaras; Punjab University, Chandigarh; College of Fine Arts, Trivadrum, Kerala; Faculty of Fine Arts, Bombay University; Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta etc. and a
member of the Editorial advisory Board of Leonardo.

==Books==

* 1978 Moving Focus: Essays on Indian Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. (Reissued by Seagull Books, Calcutta in 2006)
* 1987 The Living Tradition, Seagull Books, Calcutta
* 1992 The Creative Circuit, Seagull Books, Calcutta
* 2006 Translation of Benodebehari Mukherjee’s Chitrakar, Seagull Books, Calcutta
* 2007 Poems, Seagull Books, Calcutta
* 2007 The Magic of Making: Essays on Art and Culture, Seagull Books, Calcutta

==Illustrated books==

* 1969 When God First Made the Animals He Made Them All Alike
* 1972 The Butterfly and the Cricket, A Summer Story, Robby
* 1974 Our Friends the Ogres, The King and the Little Man
* 1979 How Poppy Grew happy, Cat’s Night and Day, Frog Life is Fun Life
* 1985 Of Ogres Beasts and Men (When God First Made the Animals He Made Them All Alike, Our Friends the Ogres, and The King and the Little Man reissued as a boxed set)
* 1995 How Hanu Became Hanuman, Death in Eden, In the Zoo (All three reissued in 1996)
* 1998 The Tale of the Talking Face

==Murals==

* 1955 Jyoti Ltd., Baroda Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda
* 1963 ‘King of the Dark Chamber’, Rabindralaya, Lucknow
* 1965 India Pavilion, New York World Fair, New York
* 1969 ‘India of my Dreams Pavilion’, Gandhi Darshan, New Delhi
* 1976 R & D Building, Jyoti Pvt. Ltd., Baroda
* 1988 Sand cast Cement Mural, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan
* 1989 Reverse painting on Glass Mural (with school children), Santiniketan
* 1990 Black and White Mural, [[Kala Bhavana]], Santiniketan (first phase)
* 1993 Black and White Mural, Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan (second phase)
* 2009 Black and White Mural, Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan (2nd version)

==Students==
Some of his students were [[Bhupen Khakhar]], [[Ghulam Rasool Santosh]], [[Gulam Mohammed Sheikh]], [[Haku Shah]], [[Jayant Parikh]], [[Jyoti Bhatt]], [[Jyotsna Bhatt]], [[Laxma Goud]], [[Mrinalini Mukherjee]], [[Nilima Sheikh]], Rajeev Lochan, [[Ratan Parimoo]], [[Rekha Rodwittiya]], [[Shanti Dave]], [[Thota Vaikuntam]], [[Vivan Sundaram]].{{quote needed|date=June 2020}}

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}}
* {{Portal-inline|India}}
* {{Portal-inline|Art}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://indiearts.in/product/k-g-subramanyan-6/ K G Subramanyan Paintings]
*[http://www.saffronart.com/artists/k-g-subramanyan "K G Subramanyan Profile,Interview and Artworks"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131018011748/http://www.contemporaryindianart.com/k_g__subramanyam.htm 20th Century Museum of Contemporary Indian Art]
* [http://www.artnet.com/artist/688287/kg-subramanyan.html Subramanyan on "Artnet"]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2009/stories/20030509000807900.htm The Quintessential Indian Artist" "Frontline"]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071005212101/http://www.cimaartindia.com/NewCima/Artists/KGSUBRAMANYAN.htm Centre for International Modern Art]
* [http://www.webofstories.com/gl/kg.subramanyan K. G. Subramanyan video at Web of Stories]
* [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=K.G.+Subramanyan&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22subramanyan%2C+k+g%22+%3E+fm%3Ajuv&qt=facet_fm%3A_audience Children's books by K G Subramanyan]
*[https://www.artisera.com/collections/k-g-subramanyan K. G. Subramanyan : Artist Profile and Artworks on 'Artisera']

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}
{{Painters from Kerala}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}
{{Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subramanyan, K. G.}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian painters]]
[[Category:Indian children's book illustrators]]
[[Category:Presidency College, Chennai alumni]]
[[Category:Emeritus Professors in India]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Rockefeller Foundation people]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi]]
[[Category:Visva-Bharati University faculty]]
[[Category:Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda faculty]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts]]
[[Category:Visva-Bharati University alumni]]
[[Category:Indian art educators]]
[[Category:Indian arts administrators]]
[[Category:Painters from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian male painters]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educators]]
[[Category:Indian engravers]]
[[Category:Indian lithographers]]

K. G. Subramanyan - Revision history

imported>Monkbot at 12:02, 1 January 2021