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These famous Indian artists have made great contributions to India’s rich cultural heritage, & Independence Day is a good time to learn about them!

When people speak of famous artists, their first thoughts tend to go towards European artists like Michelangelo, Van Gogh or Rembrandt. While they are indeed masters of art, we think that some other artists get sidelined in the process. 

For instance, how many artists from can you name? India has a rich culture of art and music, and there are some truly talented Indian artists who deserve as much attention as artists from other nationalities.

Since this is the month we celebrate India’s independence, we think it’s a great opportunity to learn about the Indian art scene, and we’ll begin by introducing you to 1o of the most famous Indian artists you should certainly know about!

10 Famous Indian Artists You Should Know

1. Raja Ravi Varma

One of the most famous Indian artists is a prince, known as Raja Ravi Varma. He was part of the Parappanad royal family from Malappuram in Kerala and was related to the royal family of Travancore. Ravi Varma was born in 1848 and his work depicts the changing social and cultural scene of the time. 

Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings feature royalty, everyday people, as well as goddesses. His paintings were gorgeous, showing Indian women in an ethereal light and soft colors. He used a combination of Indian and Western art techniques, with oil paints being his preferred medium.

Ravi Varma’s work became so popular that the Government of Kerala instituted a yearly award in his name for excellence in art, called the Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram. Kids can learn more about the famous artist through Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan’s book. Prince with a Paintbrush: The Story of Raja Ravi Varma.

2. M.F. Husain

From selling his first painting for 10 Rupees on the street to receiving India’s highest civilian honors like the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan, Maqbool Fida Husain saw it all! Popularly known as M.F. Hussain, the artist was born in Maharashtra in 1915.

Husain was a completely self-taught artist, and he began while studying calligraphy at a Madrasa. He then moved on to painting movie posters and billboards, and later designed toys for a toy company.

Husain’s style was inspired by Cubism, with bold lines and bright colors. This earned him the name ‘Picasso of India‘, which is fitting since he was invited to the São Paulo Biennial in 1971 along with Pablo Picasso.

Husain’s subjects were generally related to politics and religion, which landed him in controversy quite a few times. Yet, his work was greatly admired across the world, and at 92, he was awarded the Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram by the Government of Kerala.

M.F. Husain loved horses, and he admired how powerful and graceful they were. They often featured in his paintings, and if you’d like to try a horse project, check out Robin Age’s MF Husain’s Style of Horse Painting activity.

3. Amrita Sher-Gil

The first woman in our list of famous Indian artists is Amrita Sher-Gil, a talented young artist whose multicultural heritage influenced her art. Sher-Gil was born to an Indian father and Hungarian mother in 1913 and grew up in Europe, surrounded by the works of Post-Impressionists.

As a result, her early paintings have a strong influence of the Post-Impressionism style. But soon, she felt a strong pull towards India, and she was impressed by the Ajanta cave paintings and Mughal art. She moved to India and her art style changed to reflect Indian daily life, especially that of women and children.

Unfortunately, Sher-Gil died young, at the age of 28, mere days before her first solo exhibition. However, she has left a huge body of work behind, and if you’d like to learn more, check out this printable Activity Book based on the artist by The Heritage Lab.

4. Abanindranath Tagore

No list of famous Indian artists can be complete without mentioning the master painter Abanindranath Tagore. He was the nephew of one of India’s top freedom fighters, Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore was also a poet and author, and Abanindranath illustrated many of his books.

Abanindranath Tagore’s preferred medium was watercolors, and he was inspired by various art forms, including Whistler’s Aesthetic Movement, as well as Chinese and Japanese calligraphic traditions. As he got more involved in India’s freedom struggle, he was more drawn towards Indian traditional art, like Mughal art and Ajanta cave paintings.

Tagore is a major starting point for Swadeshi art, or traditional Indian art. He has taught and inspired many Indian artists, and also created the Indian Society of Oriental Art and the Bengal School of Art.

5. Jamini Roy

It’s a nice coincidence that quite a few of our famous Indian artists are from West Bengal! It’s the same with Jamini Roy, a celebrated Bengali artist born in 1887 into a family that loved art. Roy went to study art at the Government College of Art in Kolkata and was one of the students of Abanindranath Tagore.

After listening to Rabindranath Tagore’s speeches about independence and being a true Indian, Jamini Roy decided to look at Indian traditional art for inspiration. He studied Indian folk art, tribal art, and Kalighat painting and included those motifs and icons in his work.

Roy believed that everyone had the right to own fine art, regardless of their financial status. As a result, he never sold a painting for more than 350 Rupees, but today, his paintings are valued at thousands of dollars and appear in international collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. If you’d like to learn more about the artist’s work, check out these Jamini Roy lesson and activity sheets from IslamiMommy.

6. Nandalal Bose

While many famous Indian artists have been associated with India’s struggle for independence, few have had the honor of decorating the original manuscript of the Constitution of India. That honor belonged to Nandalal Bose, along with his disciple Rammanohar.

An alumnus of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Bose soon became involved in India’s freedom struggle, creating art as part of the resistance. He created a linocut print of Mahatma Gandhi, which became the symbol for the non-violent movement. 

Nandalal Bose was also instrumental in the founding of Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan school of art. Later, Jawaharlal Nehru assigned him the task of creating the emblems for the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Shri, India’s top civilian awards. 

7. Rabindranath Tagore

No list of famous Indian artists can be complete without mentioning the multitalented polymath, Rabindranath Tagore. What’s interesting here is that while Tagore was good at many things – poetry, writing, composing, philosophy etc. – he started drawing and painting much later, at the age of sixty.

As with everything, he excelled at art too, exhibiting many of his works at exhibitions in Paris. It is believed that Tagore may have been color blind, due to which his paintings have slightly unnatural and strange color schemes. 

Rabindranath Tagore is the author of India’s national anthem, and in 1913, he became the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize, and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

If you’d like to learn more about this amazing artist’s work, check out the Rabindranath Tagore Line Drawing Tutorial for kids by Anusree Artwork. 

8. Anjolie Ela Menon

Anjolie Ela Menon can be described as an art prodigy – she sold her first painting before she turned 15! Her work was so good that one of her first paintings was bought by the Vice President of India, Zakir Husain, while she was still in school. At 18, she held a solo exhibition with 53 paintings!

Born to a Bengali father and an American mother, she was drawn to art at a very young age, and in college, she was inspired by the works of Modigliani, M F Husain and Amrita Shergil. The result was art that combined modern aesthetics with traditional Indian symbols. 

Anjolie’s work was exhibited as several shows across the world, including the USA, France, Japan and Russia. Besides oil paintings, she has also worked with glass and computer graphics. Eventually, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

9. Sayed Haider Raza

When you study the famous Indian artists, you’ll notice that many of them were members of the Bombay Progressive Artists Group. This was a group of contemporary Indian artists whose work combined influences from both European and Indian styles. The founder of this group was Sayed Haider Raza, an artist from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Raza started drawing when he was just 12, and by 24, he had his first solo exhibition. Like other Indian artists, he was also attracted to the Ajanta and Ellora caves, as well as Mughal and Rajasthani art styles. Many of his works represent Indian spirituality, conveyed through geometric shapes and bright colors.

Raza’s work was well known internationally, and he received multiple awards for his art. He was the first non-French artist to be awarded the Prix de la critique in Paris, and he also received the Legion of Honour from the French government, as well as the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India.

One of Raza’s most popular art series is the Bindu. Robin Age shows us how to make our own version with this Bindu series-inspired tutorial.

10. Tyeb Mehta

Many artists are shaped by certain tragedies of their lives, and this impacts their art. The same is true of Tyeb Mehta, born in Gujarat but brought up in Mumbai.

Young Tyeb witnessed violent scenes during the partition riots, and it had a lasting impact on him and his art. As a result, he often dealt with dark and disturbing subjects, like human suffering and internal crisis.

Mehta’s style was a combination of Post-Impressionism, cubism and expressionism, often creating some interesting works. It is said that his Diagonal series was inspired when he threw some black paint across his canvas in a burst of frustration.

Tyeb Mehta was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007, and his triptych Celebration sold for $317,500 at a Christie’s auction – the highest sum ever paid for an Indian painting at an international auction.

We hope this list of famous Indian artists has given you some insight into the rich art history of India. These artists have significantly contributed to the Indian art scene and have left a lasting impact on the world. We believe that learning about artists from different cultures will enrich our understanding and expose our kids to so many more wonderful art forms and techniques. After all, the more art in the world, the better place it’ll be!