Artist Paritosh Sen dead

KOLKATA: Paritosh Sen, one of the founders of the contemporary Indian art movement, died at a private hospital here on Wednesday following a lung infection, family sources said. He was 90.

The artist, who was admitted to hospital one-and-a half months agp, is survived by his wife. The couple did not have any children.

Born on Sept 24, 1918, in Dhaka, Sen was a founder member of the Calcutta Group, an art movement established in 1942 that played a significant role in the birth of Indian modern art.

A contemporary of greats like M F Hussain, Sen was fascinated by the world of nature, colour and  movement and fled home to join the Madras Art School headed by Devi Prosad Roy Chowdhury after completing his school education.

After a teaching stint at the Daly college in Indore, Sen formed the Calcutta Group along with his friends, before leaving for Europe in 1949 for further studies in painting.

In Paris, he attended the Andre Lhote's school, Academie Grand Chaumier, Ecole des Beaux Arts and Ecole des Louvre, and a meeting with Picasso left a deep impression on him.

Back in India, he taught at the Netarhat School in Palamau, near Ranchi and then  joined the newly-opened School of Printing Technology in Jadavpur University as a professor of design and layout.

In 1969, Sen was awarded the French Fellowship for Designing and Typeface, and a year later was a recipient of a Rockefeller Fellowship.

Exhibitions of Sen's works were held around the globe, including the Calcutta Group exhibition (1944), London (1962), Sao Paolo Biennnale (1965), New Delhi Triennale (1968, 1971, 1975), Sweden (1984), and the Havana Biennale (1986).

Between 1981-82, Sen had been artist-in-residence at the Maryland Institute of Art, Baltimore.