Roadside Cottage

Private Collection, Newfoundland

Narayan Bendre is one of India's most celebrated twentieth century artists for his work as a landscapist and a master of colour. He attended Agra University and graduated in 1933, before earning his Diploma in Painting from the State School of Art, Indore, in 1934. He received numerous awards including the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi, the Padma Shri award, the Aban-Gagan Award from the Visva Bharati University and the Kalidas Samman from the Madhya Pradesh state government. Bendre travelled as much as possible to Europe and the Americas, and eventually developed a style that was completely his own; a combination of Indian formal themes and European modernism. In 1950, Bendre joined the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara as the Head of the Painting Department. He later became the Dean of the Faculty of Painting, and after a successful career as an academic, Bendre retired. Nevertheless, he continued to paint until he passed away in 1992.