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Atul Bose's Storied Legacy in India's Parliamentary and Museum Halls

This academic exploration serves as an archive, offering a testament to the sought-after portraiture skills artist Atul Bose. Through a collection of newspaper cuttings, we delve into the intersection of artistry and history, with each article representing a chapter in the narrative of this renowned portrait artist. These cuttings, meticulously preserved, provide valuable insights into the recognition and praise garnered by Atul Bose's creations over time, as they secured their esteemed place within museums and government institutes.

Atul Bose's Storied Legacy in India's Parliamentary and Museum Halls

Capturing Serenity in Monochrome: Atul Bose's Masterpiece, 'Grandma'

Atul Bose, a celebrated Indian artist renowned for his exceptional portraiture, received his training at Calcutta’s State College of Arts and Crafts and later became its Director. He secured a scholarship to study art at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, where he drew inspiration from English post-Impressionist Walter Sickert, evident in his later works characterised by subtle grey and brown tones.

Capturing Serenity in Monochrome: Atul Bose's Masterpiece, 'Grandma'

Student Strike Persisted at the Kolkata Government Arts School During 1928-29-30 - Part 1

1928, the principal of the Government Arts School, Mr. Percy Brown was to retire. There were still two years left until the retirement of the Vice Principal Mr. J.P. Ganguly ( Jamini Prakash Gangooly) and he was owed two years of leave. It was heard then that artist Mukul Dey would be appointed as the principal of the Government Art School soon. At that time, Mr.T.A. Achary was serving as the headmaster and Nandalal Roy Choudhury was the head clerk of Arts School and the superintendent of the contemporary Student’s Hostel which was situated on the Corporation Street and he used to live in that hostel.

Student Strike Persisted at the Kolkata Government Arts School During 1928-29-30 - Part 1

Somnath Hore: the artivist

Somnath Hore was not one to paint the blue of the skies, the glitter of the sands, or the green of the whispering trees. Instead, he captured the helpless tremble of a hand, the frail body struck by hunger, lying on the ground. In Somnath’s vision, it was the stark reality of human suffering that demanded attention.

My tryst with the Calcutta Group by Gobardhan Ash

Sometime in the middle of December, 1949, I met Prodosh Dasgupta, Prankrishna Pal, and Rathin Maitra at the Calcutta Photo Society at 157B, Dharamtolla Street. Prodosh happened to be a previous acquaintance. The other two gentlemen, however, I met for the first time. “Why, we’ve been looking for you. There’s something we would like to discuss,” they said.

My tryst with the Calcutta Group by Gobardhan Ash

The history behind the Art Rebel Centre (1933) by Gobardhan Ash

Art Rebel Centre, founded in 1933, was formed and led by Gobardhan Ash, Annada Dey, and Bhola Chatterjee. Subsequently, some of those invited to submit their work in exhibitions accepted membership. These include Lalit Chandra, Haridas Ganguly, Samar Dey, Amar Dasgupta, Sachin Das, Kalikinkar Ghoshdastidar, Khagen Roy, and Suren Dey, among others. Manoj Bose and Rabi Bose became members too, despite not providing paintings for exhibitions. The following is a brief history of how Art Rebel Centre came to be.

The history behind the Art Rebel Centre (1933) by Gobardhan Ash

Young Artists' Union (1931) - Continued ...

The founders and organisers of the artist organisation, Young Artists’ Union (1931) were - Gobardhan Ash, Ananda Dey and Digin Bhattacharya. Those who were later invited to submit their artwork for the exhibition and became members by submitting their paintings include Kalikinkar Ghosh Dastidar, Suren Dey, Sachin Das, Pankaj Basu and others.

Young Artists' Union (1931) - Continued ...

Gobardhan Ash’s Avatars

Non Fungible Tokens are a new technology phenomenon allowing clear ownership and easy transferability of digital art which can be unique or in editions. In understanding NFT, one needs to understand digital art and perhaps the progression of the mediums on which art is painted/ executed. Since time immemorial - art has been painted on wooden panels, walls, paper, and from around the 16th century on canvas.

Gobardhan Ash: the quiet master artist

A silent, dedicated artist content amidst the walls of paintings stacked in his Begampur mud house stirred a quiet revolution against the preconceived notions of artistic expression. No wonder Gobardhan Ash (b.1907) carved a niche for himself as an individualistic artist who fearlessly explored diverse artistic styles and techniques.

Atul Bose and the Art of Portraiture

The art of portraiture seems much more enticing today when we live in a world where ‘portraits’ can be created at the click of a button with a single handheld device. There is something enigmatic about how artists in the past captured personalities with strokes of the brush and immortalized them in portraits. There is something romantic about the notion of portraits themselves, and how a sensitive artist could capture the physical characteristics as well as the psychological aspect of the subject of the portrait.

Art of Atul Bose - by Partha Mitter

Atul Bose (1898-1977) was virtually forgotten in the decades following independence when the Progressive Artists of Bombay dominated in the era of Nehruvian modernism. Recently, many of these earlier artists are undergoing significant reassessment.

Calcutta 1920s Academic Painters

In the midst of the triumph of Orientalists lead by E.B. Havell, the principal of the Government Art School in Calcutta, and Abanindranath Tagore, naturalism re-emerged in the 1920s in Calcutta partly due to Percy Brown's encouragement and because of the rise of the artists such as Hemendranath Majumdar.