Devi Prasad (1921 – 1 June 2011) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

artist and peace activist. He was a pioneering studio potter, painter, designer, photographer, art educator and peace activist.

Early life

Devi Prasad studied at Rabindranath Tagore's

Shantiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and ...

and also at

Sevagram Sevagram (meaning "A town for/of service") is a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948. After Sabarmati, Sevagram Ashram holds immense importance d ...

Career, peace activism and death

A major exhibition, ''The Making of the Modern Indian Artist-Craftsman'', was held in New Delhi in May 2010, wherein his works spanning 65 years beginning with some of Devi Prasad's earliest artworks – a selection of paintings made in Santiniketan in 1938 – and ends with a showcasing of some of the last (from 2003 to 2004) that were made the last time he used his studio in Delhi.

Naman Ahuja Naman Parmeshwar Ahuja (born 1974) is an art historian and curator based in New Delhi. He is Professor of Indian Art and Architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi where his research and graduate teaching focus on Indian iconography ...

, who curated the exhibition, was an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

in his

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

and has written extensively about his teacher remembering Prasad as a

compassionate Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...

, deep-thinking person. Devi Prasad was also a lifelong pacifist and peace activist promoting ideals of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. He worked internationally with

War Resisters' International War Resisters' International (WRI), headquartered in London, is an international anti-war organisation with members and affiliates in over 40 countries. History ''War Resisters' International'' was founded in Bilthoven, Netherlands in 1921 un ...

(WRI) for several decades, serving in its London office as general secretary from 1962 to 1972 prior to his term as chair from 1972 to 1975. His history of the organization, ''War is a Crime Against Humanity: The story of War Resisters' International'', was published in 2005. Devi Prasad died in Delhi on 1 June 2011.''The Times of India'', "Prominent artist Devi Prasad dies in Delhi" ,

References

External links

Devi Prasad's interview

Indian male painters Photographers from Uttar Pradesh Indian anti-war activists Indian potters 1921 births 2011 deaths Indian art educators 20th-century Indian photographers 20th-century Indian painters 20th-century Indian male artists {{India-artist-stub

Early life

Career, peace activism and death

See also

References

External links