Ernest Binfield Havell (16 September 1861 – 31 December 1934), who published under the name E.B. Havell, was an influential English arts administrator, art historian and author of numerous books about Indian art and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. He was a member of the Havell family of artists and art educators. He was the principal of the Government School of Art, Calcutta from 1896 to 1905, where, along with

Abanindranath Tagore Abanindranath Tagore (Bengali language, Bengali: অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 August 1871 – 5 December 1951) was an Indian painter who was the principal artist and creator of the Indian Society of Oriental Art in ...

, he developed a style of art and art education based on Indian rather than Western models, which led to the foundation of the Bengal school of art.

Early life

Ernest was born at Jesse Terrace,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the English county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

in 1861, the son of an artist Charles Richard Havell and his wife, Charlotte Amelia Lord. The family had several artists and publishers. He went to Reading School and learned art at the Royal College of Art and in Paris and Italy.

Art history

In India, Havell initially served the Madras School of Art as Superintendent for a decade from 1884. He arrived Calcutta on 5 July 1896 and joined as Superintendent of the Government School of Art, Calcutta next day. In between, he went to England for a year from April 1902 to March 1903. While in England, he published two valuable articles on Indian art in the October 1902 and January 1903 issues of a well known art journal of London, ''The Studio''. In January 1906 he left for England on long leave and finally in 1908, he was removed from the post.Bagal, Jogesh Chandra (1966). ''History of the Govt. College of Art and Craft'' in the ''Centenary: Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta'', Calcutta: Government College of Art & Craft, pp. 21–34. Havell worked with

to redefine Indian art education. He established the

Indian Society of Oriental Art The Indian Society of Oriental Art was an art society founded in Calcutta in 1907 by Abanindranath Tagore. It organised art exhibitions, taught students, and published high-quality reproductions and illustrated journals. About the Society Deta ...

, which sought to adapt British art education in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

so as to reject the previous emphasis placed on European traditions in favour of revivals of native Indian styles of art, in particular the Mughal miniature tradition. He published several books on Indian art including ''Indian Sculpture and Painting'' (1908) and ''The Ideals of Indian Art'' (1911). He was involved in founding the India Society along with William Rothenstein in 1910 as a reaction to negative remarks made by Sir George Birdwood on Indian art.

Personal life

He married Angelique Wilhelmina Jacobsen, daughter of a Danish navy officer in 1895 at St Giles, London, Middlesex, England. The couple had a daughter, Sonia Joyce Havell in 1902.Descendants of Luke Havell
/ref> He died at the Acland Nursing Home in Oxford.

Works

Havell wrote numerous books on Indian art and history, including: * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes

External links

* *
Indian Architecture, Its Psychology, Structure, and History from the First Muhannadan Invasion to the Present Day on Architexturez South Asia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Havell, Ernest Binfield 1861 births 1934 deaths English Indologists British people in colonial India English art historians English architecture writers English art critics British arts administrators People from Reading, Berkshire British art educators Himalayan studies