Page 14 - N S Bendre - Selected Works 1935 - 1991

ship in 1947, Bendre travelled through 20th century was an important juncture in
Colombo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bendre’s career and added new dimensions to his
Shanghai, and made several sketches art. Upon his return, Bendre resumed practising
during the sojourn. He then went to in Bombay while taking private art classes.
San Francisco and, subsequently, to His stature as a leading artist had been firmly
New York, where he studied graphic art established and his popularity had grown, owing
under the tutelage of famous American to his single-figure studies, which had become a
printmaker and educator, Armin recurring feature on the covers of the Illustrated
Landeck, at the Art Students League. Weekly of India. It was during this time that he
He later observed that while met Hansa Mehta, the Vice Chancellor of the
American modernism was significantly newly-established Maharaja Sayajirao University
affected by varied influences including of Baroda. With his credentials, the artist was
English, Dutch, Spanish, and native invited to join the faculty, and in 1950 he moved to
American, it was its vibrancy that Baroda as the head of the painting section in the
enriched his palette. He was also very Faculty of Fine Arts. This marked the beginning
impressed by the importance given of what is known to be the most important phase
to art by the American elite. A solo of his artistic career.
exhibition of his works was held at
Windermere Gallery in New York in
January 1948. The Artist Mentor
From the US, Bendre moved The 16 years spent in Baroda from 1950 to
on to an extensive tour of Europe, 1966 are central in Bendre’s oeuvre, and to truly
which lasted around 10 months. understand its significance, one must analyse the
During the trip, he delved deeper into period with a dual focus on his role as a mentor
European art. While England served and his progression as an artist.
as a treasure trove of academic art, in With new-found Independence, the
France he came across the different sentiment across India was charged with a
idioms of modernism, through works sense of new possibilities. In the early years of
of Impressionism and Cubism and the 1950s, this spirit of change was fervently The artist
its structural aspect, which deeply being promoted by artists’ collectives and art visionary: Even
impacted him. He also had the institutions of the country. The Faculty of after his tenure
opportunity to see the work of some Fine Arts at the M S University also emerged at Baroda, Bendre
continued to paint
important Mexican artists. These as a crucible of unique creative pursuits with and never lost his
encounters with Western art of the luminaries like Sankho Chaudhuri, K G zeal for learning

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