Description :

Harkishan Lal was born in Ludhiana in 1921. He graduated from Punjab University, Lahore in 1940. He further pursued art at the Sir JJ School of Art, Bombay and obtained a Diploma in 1947. During 1949 -1953, he taught at the art department Polytechnic of Delhi. In 1953, he visited Russia and Poland in a five-member artists’ delegation.

Harkishan Lal was part of the Bombay Group of painters, which emerged after the decline of the Progressive Artists Group. Artists K.K. Hebbar, Shiavax Chavda, K.H. Ara, H.A. Gade, D.G. Kulkarni, Laxman Pai, Mohan Samant and Baburao Sadwelkar were part of this group. The group held six exhibitions between 1957 - 1964. He was a member of the Delhi Shilpi Chakra – Artists’ Circle. In 1962, he joined the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as deputy director (design), but resigned soon after.

There is a distinct fragrance of Indian miniature painting in his work. His simple and spontaneous style has an immediate appeal which marks him out as one of the best colourists on Indian art scene. A perfect combination of colour treatment and imagination made his works stand out. His landscapes interspersed with human figures; anima ls and birds have a unique freshness and charm. In spite of the vast scale of his work, the figures seem familiar and animals of the wildest nature appear friendly. During that period, he participated in many group shows and won numerous awards, including gold medals from the Calcutta Fine Art Society (1960) and the Bombay Art Society (1961). He had solo shows in Paris (1969) and San Jose. He passed away in 2000.