Narayan Shridhar Bendre

Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Employment is recorded with Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and Lalit Kala Akademi. Work by Narayan Shridhar Bendre is recorded in the collections of National Gallery of Modern Art. Distinctions recorded are Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri in arts and Kalidas Samman.

• Name — Narayan Shridhar Bendre • Birth Name — Narayan Shridhar Bendre • Born — 21 August 1910 • Birthplace — Indore, Madhya Pradesh, British India • Died — 19 February 1992 • Place of death — Mumbai, Maharashtra, India • Awards — Padma Bhushan (1992) Padma Shri (1969)

Narayan Shridhar Bendre was born in a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family on 21 August 1910 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. In 1933, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Agra University. During the same period, he pursued formal training in art at the State School of Art in Indore under the tutelage of Dattatraya Damodar Deolalikar. In 1934, he completed an Art Diploma under the then Government of Bombay.

From 1936 to 1939, Bendre served as an artist-journalist for the Visitors' Bureau of the Kashmir government. In 1940, he worked as an art director for a motion picture in Chennai. His professional travels allowed him extensive opportunities to capture natural landscapes in his work. He also made regular visits to historical sites, museums, and art organizations throughout India. In 1946, he spent time at Santiniketan as a visiting artist. Between 1947 and 1950, Bendre traveled globally to study the international art world, visiting nations including Great Britain, the United States, France, Holland, West Germany, Italy, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Japan. During this period, he studied drawing and graphic arts at the Art Students League of New York under the supervision of art expert Armin Landeck. He also organized exhibitions of his artworks in several of the countries he visited.

In 1952, Bendre was chosen as a painter to accompany India's first official cultural delegation to China. From 1950 to 1960, he worked at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda as a professor of painting, later serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. After retiring from his position in Baroda, he relocated to Mumbai, where he permanently settled to work as a professional painter.

Bendre is recognized as an experimental artist who resisted the restrictions of any single school or specific tradition of painting. His diverse artistic footprint is visible across multiple stylistic phases: • Romanticism: Exemplified by his early work Vagabond (1933). • Cubism: Reflected through his distinct methodology in Sunflowers (1955). • Abstract Expressionism: Displayed in works such as Entwined Form (1962). • Neo-Realism: Demonstrated in his figurative neo-realist piece Bhil Couple (1980). Bendre's paintings are preserved in numerous art collections both across India and internationally, and he held frequent exhibitions of his work within India.

Bendre maintained close ties with many well-known art institutions and took on several administrative roles: • Art Society of India: Served as the president of the society for three years. • Lalit Kala Akademi (Delhi): Served as the Vice Chairman of the fine arts branch from 1962 to 1972. • Bombay Art Society: Served as the Vice President during the intervals of 1972–1973 and 1977–1978.

Hairdo (1949), "The Sunflower" (1955), "Monkey" (1957), "The Cow and the Calf" (1948), "The Female Cowherd" (1956), "Homebound", "The Bullock Cart" and "Gossip"