Elephants in Stone: Sir Mangaldas Nathubhai and Bombay’s Cultural Legacy

Walk through Bombay’s old neighbourhoods and you will still find elephants in stone. At Lamington Road and in Kalbadevi, they guard the façades of two of the city’s most storied theatres — Imperial and Bhangwadi. To most passersby, they are striking ornaments. In truth, they are the emblem of Sir Mangaldas Nathubhai and his family, whose motto “Wisdom over Riches” guided a life of philanthropy and civic reform in nineteenth-century Bombay.

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Porcelain from the Estate of Sir Mangaldas Nathubhai

The porcelains that once gleamed in Sir Mangaldas Nathubhai’s family homes reveal his lesser-known side as a deliberate collector. Now offered to the public for the first time, the Estate takes us back to 19th-century Bombay, when his Malabar Hill mansion stood as a social landmark. Within its halls, his studied collections—porcelain foremost among them, alongside books, clocks, and silverware—were displayed and admired by the city’s elite.

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Sir Mangaldas Nathubhai: The Renaissance Man of Bombay

Sir Mangaldas Nathubhai was one of the most dedicated reformers and philanthropists of nineteenth-century Bombay. Among the earliest Indians knighted by the British Crown for his service to education, healthcare, and civic reform, his legacy stands apart. More than a prosperous merchant, he belonged to the circle of Bombay’s emerging intelligentsia and played a significant role in the city’s wider social and political awakening.

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Ignoring the Elephant in the Room

Jamini Roy and Gao Jianfu's Overlooked Collaboration This research note is about Gao Jianfu, the founding member of the Lingnan School of art, his travel to India, and a hitherto undocumented collaboration / influence with Jamini Roy.

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Tale of Two Fathers

Xu Beihong, Jamini Roy, and a Possible Crossroad of Indian & Chinese Modernism  The title of this note requires some explanation. Xu Beihong (Ju Peon) is widely regarded as the father of Chinese Modernism, while Jamini Roy is known as the father of Indian Modernism. (12) The works under discussion come from the estate of Jamini Roy, yet are believed to be by Xu Beihong, hence the framing as a “Tale of Two Fathers.”

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Cheena Bhavan, Visva Bharati - Exchange of Indian & Chinese Culture

Tucked away from the bustle of colonial Kolkata, Bolpur’s red-earth landscape became home to Santiniketan in 1863, when Maharshi Devendranath Tagore purchased the land and established a spiritual retreat he named the “Abode of Peace.”

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Xu Beihong - The Chinese Modernist’s Artistic Pilgrimage to India

Hailed as the father of modern Chinese painting, Xu Beihong’s vast oeuvre reflects a rich confluence of cultural influences absorbed during his travels. Among these sojourns, Xu’s spirit of cultural fusion found new ground in 1939, when he was appointed the first Chinese visiting professor at Rabindranath Tagore’s Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal. 

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Tradition in Abstraction: The Folk-Cubist Synthesis of Sunil Madhav Sen

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern Indian art, few names evoke the quiet strength and earthy lyricism of rural Bengal like Sunil Madhav Sen (1910-1979). A pioneer who chose brush over gravel, Sunil Madhav Sen’s journey from Law to the heart of India’s modernist movement is a testament to the power of personal calling.

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From Rarh to Modernism: Sunil Madhav Sen and the Calcutta Group

Sunil Madhav Sen (1910-1979) was a modern artist whose art echoed the soil, people and spirit of Rarh Bengal. Though he studied law, his heart belonged to colors. Leaving behind a legal career, he turned to canvas, shaping a visual language that drew from the red soil of his childhood, the rhythms of tribal life and the quiet dignity of everyday moments.

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Leaving Gavel for the Brush: Sunil Madhav Sen's Journey to Himself

Sunil Madhav Sen (1910-1979) was an artist whose work reflected an abiding intimacy with the land and ethos of Rural Bengal. Quietly perceptive and inwardly alert, he drew inspiration from the textured rhythms of village life and the unadorned poetry of everyday moments. Rather than seeking recognition, he remained committed to authenticity - shaping a visual language that was contemplative, grounded and steeped in lived memory.

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Tales in Red Dust - The Artistic Genesis of Sunil Madhav Sen

Rarh Bengal, with its rugged red soil and undulating laterite terrain, was more than just a backdrop to Sunil Madhav Sen’s (1910-1979) early life - it was his first teacher, which left a long-lasting impression on Sunil Madhav Sen’s inner world. For Sunil Madhav Sen it was not merely something to look at, it was something he lived. From this soil, his earliest impressions of life and art took root and what he absorbed here would return again and again, in his works - not always as direct representations, but as feelings and texture.

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Rarh Bengal in Modern Hue: The Artistic Imprint of Sunil Madhav Sen

Sunil Madhav Sen (1910-1979) was a pioneering modernist painter from Bengal, known for blending together rural sensibilities with avant-garde techniques. He was born in Purulia, a region that lies within the Rarh Bengal, which is mainly known for its red soil, rich cultural heritage, folk tradition and art. Sunil Madhav Sen’s roots in this culturally vibrant and geographically unique land played a significant role in shaping his artistic sensibilities.

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Bhanu Athaiya - pre-1953 Catalogue Raisonne

A rare catalogue raisonné of Bhanu Athaiya’s fine art and formative years at the J.J. School of Art—spotlighting the only woman in the Progressive Artists’ Group, who redefined her artistic journey through costume design and became India’s first Oscar winner.

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F.N. Souza: A Continuum -

Evolution of the Indian Modernist Painter Prinseps, in collaboration with Dhoomimal Gallery, presented F.N. Souza: A Continuum. A landmark exhibition  A landmark exhibition celebrating F.N. Souza's Centenary Year. Opening on March 25, 2025, in New Delhi, the exhibition invited viewers to look beyond the myth and into the inner world of one of India’s most influential modernists.

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শিল্পী সুনীল মাধবের শিল্পচেতনার দর্পন

শিল্পকলার অগ্রগতিতে বিভিন্ন সংগঠন কাজ করে আসছে। ইতিহাসের পাতা থেকে জানা যায় কলকাতায় প্রথম এই ধরণের সংগঠনের জন্ম হয় ১৮৩০ সালে, যার নাম 'ব্রাশ ক্লাব' (Brush Club)। কয়েকজন ভারতীয় ও ব্রিটিশ উদ্যোক্তাদের মধ্যে মধ্যমনি ছিলেন প্রিন্স দ্বারকানাথ ঠাকুর। এর আয়ু ছিল স্বল্পকাল। এরপর কালে কালে এক এক করে অনেক সংগঠন প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছে স্বল্পায়ু নিয়ে। একমাত্র ১৯০৭ সালে প্রতিষ্ঠিত ইন্ডিয়ান সোসাইটি অফ ওরিয়েন্টাল আর্ট (Indian Society of Oriental Art) এখনও সক্রিয়। সাম্প্রতিক কালে এই রকম কয়েকটি সক্রিয় প্রতিষ্ঠানের একটি হলো প্রিন্সেপস (Prinseps)।

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Souza and Catholicism: A Lifelong Reflection in Art

Francis Newton Souza’s early years in Goa were immersed in Catholic tradition, shaped by his grandmother, Leopoldina Saldanha. After contracting smallpox in Bombay, he was sent back to Saligao in 1929, where his childhood was steeped in religious rituals. His grandmother, deeply devout, led the family in nightly Rosary prayers and Sunday Mass, filling his imagination with stories of saints, martyrdom, and biblical events.

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Souza: The Doting Father

As we unravel the lesser-known facets of Souza’s personal life, we move beyond the Enfant terrible label often attached to him. Offering an intimate glimpse of the man behind the masterpieces—we see a portrait of a doting father, hunched over his desk. He wields his quill gently; unlike the bold, urgent strokes of his brush. His ink spills onto his letters, lined with affection and longing, as he writes to his daughter Keren, “Lots of love and kisses. Write me.”

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Liselotte & F.N. Souza: A Creative Convergence

Francis Newton Souza’s years in London marked a crucial turning point in his artistic journey, shaped not just by the city’s post-war modernist currents but also by his deep and transformative relationship with Liselotte Souza née Kristian (ancestry Kohn). 

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Metamorphosis as a Motif: Kafka in Souza’s Art

Souza’s artistic evolution was not shaped by painters alone. While Picasso informed his visual language, it was Franz Kafka who gave form to his inner unrest. The influence of Kafka—never examined as part of Souza’s oeuvre—runs deep through his art and writings.

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F.N. Souza & Picasso: Influence, Cubism, and Cross-Cultural Exchange

From his early years in Bombay to his rise in London, Souza saw Picasso as an artistic influence and a kindred spirit. The parallels were striking. Both were expelled from art institutions, briefly associated with the Communist Party, and deeply engaged with the written word. 

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