Carmel Berkson
Carmel Berkson (born November 8, 1924) is an American sculptor known for her documentation and books on Indian art, aesthetics and architecture. She was conferred the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2010.
Carmel Berkson
- Name
- Carmel Berkson
- Born
- 8 November 1924
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Occupation
- Sculptor
- Awards
- Padma Shri (2010)
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- Duke University · Columbia University · Columbia University School of the Arts
- Honours
- Padma Shri in arts
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Carmel Berkson (born November 8, 1924) is an American sculptor known for her documentation and books on Indian art, aesthetics and architecture. She was conferred the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2010.
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wikidata · Q5043259 · wikipedia · Carmel Berkson
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Carmel Berkson • Born — 8 November 1924 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Occupation — Sculptor • Awards — Padma Shri (2010)
Early life and education
Early life and education
Berkson was born in New York City on November 8, 1924. She majored in history at the Duke University and after graduation, studied sculpture at the Columbia University under Milton Hebald. She is married to Martin Fleisher a batchmate of hers from Duke.
Work in India
Work in India
By the time she first visited India in 1970 Berkson had been a practising sculptor for 22 years. That trip, during which she visited Elephanta, Ellora and Mahabalipuram, was a transformative one for her. Berkson soon gave up her career as a sculptor and began to tour India to study its important architectural and cultural sites. In 1977 she moved her main residence to Mumbai in India to continue with her research into the philosophy, mythology and artistic developments in Indian sculpture.
Notable works
Notable works
• Illustration — Carmel Berkson with India's Minister for Culture, Kumari Selja in 2011
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1924
Carmel Berkson born at New York.
Books
Berkson is the author of several books on Indian art. These include: • Elephanta, the cave of Shiva • The caves at Aurangabad: early Buddhist tantric art in India • The divine and demoniac: Mahisa's heroic struggle with Durga • Ellora, concept and style • The life of form in Indian sculpture • Indian sculpture: towards the rebirth of aesthetics.
Sculpture
Berkson is noted for both her documentation and commentary on Indian art as well as her own work as a sculptor. She took up sculpting again in 2001 after a hiatus of nearly three decades. Most of her sculptures are renditions of figures from Indian mythology but reflect cubist influences in their depiction. Her work while drawing from and alluding to Hindu, Christian and Buddhist mythology are noted for their simple, clean forms that reflect a modern aesthetic. Some of her sculptures are those of Lakshmi and Vishnu as horse and mare, bronze statues of Shiva as Apsamara and of Vishnu atop Garuda. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York has in its possession a collection of her photographs of ancient Indian sculpture.
Awards and honours
The Government of India honoured Berkson by awarding her the Padma Shri in 2010. Berkson announced her retirement from work and plans to return to the USA later that year. She donated 38 of her sculptures to the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai in 2011.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Padma Awards. 2010.
- 2.President confers. March 31, 2010.
- 3.New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910–1965. Carmel Berkson.
- 4.Duke Magazine. Inspired by ancient Indian art: Carmel Berkson '46.
- 5.Saffron Art. Carmel Berkson.
- 6.Signing off. The Indian Express. October 7, 2010.
- 7.An analysis of contemporary sculpture. The Hindu. October 2019.
- 8.Most widely held works by Carmel Berkson.
- 9.President presents Padma awards. The Hindu. March 31, 2010.
- 10.American artist Carmel Berkson donates 38 sculptures to NGMA.
References
Citations
References
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Further particulars
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Further particulars
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Carmel Berkson is recorded as having received Padma Shri in arts.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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