Narayan Shridhar Bendre

An Indian Modernist artist, painter and educator, Narayan Shridhar Bendre was born in Indore, Madhya
Pradesh. Bendre is known for forming the Baroda Group of Artists in 1956 and founding the Lalit Kala
Akademi, New Delhi, in 1954. The dominant subject of his artworks was landscapes and portraits
rendered in different stylistic idioms.
Bendre received his initial art education at Holkar College, Agra University and a diploma from Indore
School of Art under the guidance of DD Deolalikar. His classmates and close friends in Indore were VA
Mali, KK Hebbar, Siavax Chavda, VP Karmarkar and DJ Joshi .In 1934, he was awarded a diploma in
art at Sir JJ School of Art, Bombay (now Mumbai). His early work consists of landscapes and portraits
made with oils and gouache. Bendre travelled extensively across India and took a job as a commercial
artist in the Department of Tourism, Srinagar, where he spent three years sketching and painting.
After a short stay as a guest artist in Santiniketan in 1945 where he met Nandalal Bose, Ram Kinkar Baij
and Binode Behari Mukherjee, Bendre was drawn to Modernism. Inspired by their insights, perceptions
and stimulating ideas, Bendre started
experimenting with stylistic characteristics
of Post-Impressionism, Fauvism and
Expressionism. In 1947, he toured the
USA and studied graphic art under Armin
Landeck at the Art Students League in New
York. In the late 1940s, Bendre witnessed
the formation of Progressive Artists Group
(PAG) in Bombay. His visit to China in 1953,
enhanced his interest in understanding light.
Post-Impressionist painters Pierre Bonnard
and Jean-Édouard Vuillard, known for
capturing atmospheric light in their works,
were Bendre’s favourite artists.
Bendre is well known for being a landscapist,
and for his usage of colors. He was
immensely influenced by miniature painting.
The influence of pointillism painting and
a combination of Georges Pierre Seurat
& Paul Gauguin can be seen in his work.
Assimilating this western influence he
created a niche for himself in the field of art
by innovating a style all his own. He carried
out experiments depicting subtle themes
ranging from everyday life to the abstract.