Raman Siva Kumar (born 3 December 1956), known as R. Siva Kumar, is an Indian contemporary

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

, and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

. His major research has been in the area of early Indian modernism with special focus on the Santiniketan School. He has written several important books, lectured widely on modern

Indian art Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...

and contributed articles to prestigious international projects such as the '' Art Journal'',

Grove Art Online ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

or ''

The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. He was awarded the Kesari puraskaram for art writing by the

Lalit Kala Akademi The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art (LKA) is India's national academy of fine arts. It is an autonomous organisation, established in New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, in ...

, Kerala in 2010. He has also curated major exhibitions like Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism, and The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore and retrospectives of important Indian artists, such as

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 ...

Benode Behari Mukherjee Benode Behari Mukherjee (7 February 1904 – 11 November 1980) was an Indian artist from West Bengal state. Mukherjee was one of the pioneers of Indian modern art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. He was one of the earliest artists in ...

(co-curated with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh),

K. G. Subramanyan Kalpathi Ganpathi "K.G." Subramanyan (5 February 1924 29 June 2016) was an Indian artist. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2012. Life Subramanyan was born in Tamil Brahmin family on 5th February, 1924 in Kuthuparamba in Kerala, India ...

. He also has co-curated an exhibition titled "Tryst with Destiny" for the Singapore Art Museum to mark the 50 years of Indian Independence and served as a curatorial adviser for Rhythms of India: The Art of

Nandalal Bose Nandalal Bose (3 December 1882 – 16 April 1966) was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism, Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his ...

curated by Sonia Rhie Quintanilla for the

San Diego Museum of Art The San Diego Museum of Art is a fine art museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. It opened as the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed ...

Early life and education

R. Siva Kumar was born in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. After completing his early education in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

and

he moved to

Santiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: Help:IPA/Bengali, �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 Devendra ...

, where he joined

Kala Bhavan Kala Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts) is the fine arts faculty of Visva-Bharati University, in Shantiniketan, India. It is an institution of education and research in visual arts, founded in 1919, it was established by Nobel laureate Rabind ...

and completed his MFA in

history of art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

Career

Since 1981, Professor Siva Kumar, who is often considered to be "the most erudite and self-effacing art historian" of his time, has been teaching

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

Kala Bhavana Kala Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts) is the fine arts faculty of Visva-Bharati University, in Shantiniketan, India. It is an institution of education and research in visual arts, founded in 1919, it was established by Nobel laureate Rabindra ...

, where he has held several offices, including that of the Principal. His writings on

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 ...

and the

artists have contributed a new perspective on them by shifting the critical focus from nationalist revivalism to a context sensitive modernism. Among his curated exhibitions Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism commissioned to mark the fifty years of Indian independence, ''Benodebehari: A Centenary Retrospective'' (co-curated with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh) and '' The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore'' commissioned to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore are considered landmark exhibitions. The reputed Indian Magazine, Frontline reported, "The best show was the one (celebrating 50 years of Indian Independence) curated by R. Siva Kumar of Santiniketan, 'The Making of a Contextual Modernism', exhibiting about a hundred works each of

, Ram Kinker Baij and

". While The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore was shown at ten major museums of the world including the

Museum of Asian Art The Museum of Asian Art () has been a part of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin since 2020. Before its relocation, the museum was sited in the neighborhood of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. It is one of the Berlin State Museums and funded by the Pr ...

, Berlin;

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

, New York;

National Museum of Korea The National Museum of Korea () is the flagship museum of Korean history and Korean art, art in South Korea. Since its establishment in 1945, the museum has been committed to various studies and research activities in the fields of archaeology ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

;

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London;

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...

, Chicago;

Petit Palais The (; ) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the Exposition Universelle (1900), 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...

, Paris;

National Gallery of Modern Art The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is the premier art gallery under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The main museum at Jaipur House in New Delhi was established on 29 March 1954 by the Government of India, with subsequent b ...

, Rome; National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur;

McMichael Canadian Art Collection The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture gar ...

, Ontario; and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. In a review of

Rabindra Chitravali ''Rabindra Chitravali'' is a 2011 four-volume set of books by art historian R. Siva Kumar that contains paintings of Rabindranth Tagore. These include about 1700 paintings in the Rabindra Bhavana and Kala Bhavana collections of Visva-Bharati, ...

in '' The Statesman'', German scholar

Martin Kämpchen Martin Kämpchen (born 9 December 1948) is an author, translator, journalist and social worker. Early life He studied literature in Vienna and French in Paris. He earned his first doctorate in Vienna He worked for three years as a German teache ...

( de) writes, "It collects excellently faithful reproductions of Rabindranath's paintings in large format. The editor,

's art historian, Prof R . Siva Kumar, has spent his entire working life researching the Bengal School of Art, especially the

crop of painters. This is the crowning achievement in this hard-working and self-effacing scholar's career." For the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

Cambridge Journals Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

W. Andrew Robinson William Andrew Coulthard Robinson (born 14 March 1957) is a British author and former newspaper editor. Andrew Robinson was educated at the Dragon School, Eton College, where he was a King's Scholar, University College, Oxford, where he read c ...

wrote, "The unparalleled quality of the volumes' reproductions, made from new scans of the original works kept in

, in New Delhi and elsewhere, and printed by India's leading art printer, Pragati Offset, based in Hyderabad, is thrillingly good.

: Paintings of

is surely one of the finest art books to have been produced 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 ...

. Closely associated with the critical traditions of the

his writings on Abanindranath and the

artists have been recognised as making an important contribution to the reassessment and critical reception of these artists. Reviewing his book ''

Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore ''Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore'' is a book on Abanindranath Tagore's paintings by art historian R. Siva Kumar. It is widely considered as a landmark book in the Indian art scene that brings together a large corpus of Abanindranath's work for ...

'' Tapati Guha Takurta wrote: ‘With this magnum opus on

, Siva Kumar can be seen to have traversed full circle within this particular lineage of art practice and art writing in Bengal. An art historical journey that began with and has continuously returned to the work of

, has tracked its course backwards in time to mark out its significant inheritance, not just of the

masters (

and

Ramkinkar Baij Ramkinkar Baij ( (25 May 1906 – 2 August 1980) was an Indian sculpture, sculptor and painter, one of the pioneers of modern Indian sculpture and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. Early life and career Baij was born in an economic ...

), but also in the little-known oeuvre of the later Abanindranath.' In 2013 he was awarded by the

Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi The Pashchimbanga Bangla Akademi (, , ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in India. It was founded on 20 May 1986 in Kolkata to act as the official authority of the language and is entrusted with the responsibility of ref ...

for his book ''Ram Kinkar Baij – A Retrospective''. R. Siva Kumar also received a special award from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

for his contribution to the Indian art scene.

Contextual Modernism

In '' Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism'' Siva Kumar introduced the term

Contextual Modernism ''Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism'' was an exhibition curated by R. Siva Kumar at the National Gallery of Modern Art in 1997, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of India's Independence. The exhibition, through bringin ...

which later emerged as a

postcolonial Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...

critical tool in the understanding of

, specifically the works of

, Ram Kinker Baij and

. Several terms including

Paul Gilroy Paul Gilroy (born 16 February 1956) is an English sociologist and cultural studies scholar who is the founding Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at University College London (UCL). Gilroy is the 2019 ...

’s ''counter culture of modernity'' and Tani Barlow's ''Colonial modernity'' have been used to describe the kind of alternative modernity that emerged in non-European contexts. Professor Gall argues that ‘Contextual Modernism’ is a more suited term because “the colonial in ''colonial modernity'' does not accommodate the refusal of many in colonized situations to internalize inferiority. Santiniketan’s artist teachers’ refusal of subordination incorporated a counter vision of modernity, which sought to correct the racial and cultural essentialism that drove and characterized imperial Western modernity and modernism. Those European modernities, projected through a triumphant British colonial power, provoked nationalist responses, equally problematic when they incorporated similar essentialisms.”

Role in preventing Tagore fakes

R. Siva Kumar, being an authority on

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 ...

's paintings, curator of his largest Exhibition and the author/editor of the most comprehensive reference work on Rabindranath's paintings has played an important role in preventing Tagore-fakes. In 2011 the

Government College of Art and Craft The Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC) in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classe ...

in Kolkata, under principal Dipali Bhattacharya, had organised an exhibition of 23 Tagore paintings. And later 20 were found to be fake. Siva Kumar, who had already seen digital images of the paintings and, convinced that they were all fakes, had warned the college principal, Dipali Bhattacharya, against holding the exhibition. But Bhattacharya went ahead with the claim that the paintings were "genuine". “There’s a great market for

's paintings and his works are of a rare kind. I had seen the reproductions and I knew they were fake. It's unfortunate because it completely destroys the oeuvre of the artist. But the problem of fakes is larger than what is made out of it." R. Siva kumar had revealed to the

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

. According to Siva Kumar the fakes were "by an academically trained artist — not old Santiniketan. Elements have been taken from different prints and then collaged together...This (Tagore-faking) needs to be nipped in the bud. The other day, I came upon a notice about an exhibition of Nandalal (Bose) and Abanindranath (Tagore), the medium being acrylic and canvas. Acrylic paints were not invented then. They are totally uninformed. The art world should wake up if it wants credibility. Institutions should be more careful. They have a certain responsibility to their heritage and legacy. The academic part of it should be more professional." In 2014, Siva Kumar called for the formation of an investigation unit to track theft, copies and forgery of art. ''

Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' quoted him,"A national-level investigation agency should set up a team of specialists who follow only such cases so that they can see pattern or notice the involvement of same people or part of the same network. One can then consider putting an embargo on galleries and collectors whose names figure in such reports." He also urged that supportive legal measures should also be drafted. Explaining the rise in fakes originating from Bengal, he pointed to the revival of interest in art of early 20th century. "Bengal masters figured prominently in art history. Their works were few in circulation. Hence, when demand went up, it spawned fakes."

''Ramkinkar Baij''

''Ramkinkar Baij: A Retrospective, 1906-1980'' is a book by R. Siva Kumar that was brought out on the occasion of a massive retrospective exhibition of

at the

. The exhibition was curated by K.S. Radhakrishnan and the book was brought out in collaboration with the Delhi Art Gallery. The book presents entire body of Ramkinkar's sketches, watercolours, etchings, oils and sculptures, together with many invaluable period photographs. This is considered to be the authoritative volume on the “prolific master”. Drawing distinction between

and Ramkinkar Baij, Siva Kumar notes, "If his friend and colleague Binodebihari painted the starker side of Santiniketan landscape, and saw himself as a lonely palm tree in the middle of the barren and parched Khoai, Ramkinkar saw himself as the Palash in full bloom: No leaves, bare branches, fully ablaze". In 2013 R. Siva Kumar was granted an award by the

for this book.

Memberships and associations

* Member Advisory Committee,

for two terms * Member of the Board of Studies of the School of Art and Aesthetics,

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

* Principal, Kala Bhavana(2008–2010) * Nominated as "Eminent Art Historian" to the General Council of the

* Member of the committee appointed by the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

for the improvement of art education in Kerala * Member Advisory Committee

* Member Executive Council

Visva Bharati Visva-Bharati (IAST: ''Viśva-Bhāratī''), () is a public central university and an Institute of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which ...

(2008–2009) * Vice-President SVAAD (Santiniketan Visual Artists and Designers Association) * Nominated member of the

(2008–2011) * Trustee of the Foundation for Indian Art and Education * Governor's Nominee

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on 8 May 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. I ...

(2014) *

Mario Miranda Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda (2 May 1926 – 11 December 2011), also known as Mario de Miranda, was an Indian cartoonist and painter based in Loutolim, Goa. He had been a regular with ''The Times of India'' and other news ...

Chair Professor in Art, Painting and Illustrative Art and Cartooning

Goa University Goa University is a public state university headquartered in the city of Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa. The traditions of Goa University date back to the 17th century,Prôa, Miguel Pires. "Escolas Superiores" Portuguesas Antes de 1950 ...

(2016-) * ICCR Chair of Indian Studies at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(2018-)

Awards and recognitions

* 'Kesari Puraskaram'for contribution to art writing,

, 2010. * 'Manojmohan Smarak Puraskar' for book on Ramkinkar Baij,

, 2013. * Felicitated with a plaque of special Honour by the

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

, 2013. * Awarded the title 'Rabindra Tattwacharya' by the Tagore Research Institute, Kolkata, 2015. * Awarded 'Lifetime Achievement Award for Art History and Art Criticism' by the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

, 2018.

Curated exhibitions

* An Exhibition of Abanindranath's Paintings, Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan,1985. * ''Tryst with Destiny'',

Singapore Art Museum The Singapore Art Museum (Abbreviation: SAM) is an art museum with multiple venues across Singapore. It is the first fully dedicated contemporary visual arts museum in Singapore with one of the world’s most important public collections by loc ...

, Singapore, 1997. * Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism,

, New Delhi, 1997. * '' K.G. Subramanyan: A Retrospective'',

, New Delhi, 2002. * ''Benodebehari: A Centenary Retrospective'',

, New Delhi, 2006 (with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh). * '' The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore'',

, Berlin ,

, New York,

, Seoul,

, London,

, Chicago,

, Paris,

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna The ("National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art"), also known as La Galleria Nazionale, is an art museum in Rome. It was founded in 1883 on the initiative of the then minister Guido Baccelli and is dedicated to modern and contemporary ar ...

, Rome, National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur,

, Ontario,

, New Delhi,

National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai was opened to the public in 1996. It hosts various exhibitions and art collections of famous artists, sculptors and different civilizations. It is situated in the Cowasji Jehangir Hall, near Regal Cinema ...

National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore National Gallery of Modern Art is an art gallery in Bangalore. It was inaugurated in the year 2009. It showcases modern Indian art and houses paintings by Raja Ravi Verma, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, Rabindranath Tagore and a large number o ...

*''Selected Works of Ramachandran: from 1964–2013''

Major publications

* R. Siva Kumar. ''The Santiniketan Murals'', Seagull Books.. * R. Siva Kumar. Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 1997. * R. Siva Kumar. '' K.G. Subramanyan: A Retrospective'', National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 2003. . * R. Siva Kumar, ''A Ramachandran: A Retrospective'', National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 2004. . * R. Siva Kumar, ''K.S. Radhakrisnan'', Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, 2004.. * R. Siva Kumar. ''My Pictures: A Collection of Paintings by

'', Visva Bharati and Viva Books, New Delhi, 2005. . * R. Siva Kumar, ''The Khoai'', Gallery Espace, New Delhi, 2007. * R. Siva Kumar with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, '' Benodebehari Mukherjee: A Centenary Retrospective'',

, New Delhi, 2007. * R. Siva Kumar, ''

: The Painted Platters'', The Guild, Mumbai, 2007.. * R. Siva Kumar, ''

'', Pratikshan Books, Kolkata, 2008.. * R. Siva Kumar, ''Sensibility Objectified: The Sculptures of

Sarbari Roy Choudhury Sarbari Roy Chowdhury (21 January 1933 – 21 February 2012), was an Indian artist. Biography Chowdhury was born in Ulpur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) into a Zamindari family, and graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolk ...

'', Akar Prakar, Lalit Kala Akademi and Mapin, Kolkata, 2009.. . * R. Siva Kumar, ''

: Drawings'', The Guild, Mumbai, 2010. . * R. Siva Kumar, ''

: Paintings of Rabindranath'', Pratikshan Books, Kolkata, 2011. ISBN Vol1: 978-81-89323-30-1 Vol2: 978-81-89323-31-1 Vol3: 978-81-89323-32-1 Vol4: 978-81-89323-33-1 Set: 978-81-89323-34-1 Catalogue: 978-81-89323-40-0. * R. Siva Kumar, ''The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath'', Mapin, Ahamedabad, 2011.(with contributions from

William Radice William Radice (1951 – 10 November 2024) was a British poet, writer and translator. His research area was in Bengali language and literature, and he was the senior lecturer in Bengali in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the Univer ...

, Uma Das Gupta,

Kris Manjapra The kris or is a Javanese asymmetrical dagger with a distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, although many have straight ...

( de), etc.) . * R. Siva Kumar, '' Ramkinkar Baij (book)"'', Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2012. . * R. Siva Kumar,''Enchantment and Engagement: Murals of K.G. Subramanyan'',

Seagull Books Seagull Books is a publishing venture begun in Kolkata in 1982 by Naveen Kishore, a theater practitioner. It began primarily as a response to the growing need for an Indian publishing house for theater and the other arts and since then it ha ...

, Kolkata, 2015.

Selected articles

*‘K.C.S. Paniker: A Retrospect’, ''Nandan'', 1979. *Catalogue article for the Sudhir Khastgir retrospective exhibition, ''Kala-Bhavan'', March 1980. *‘Ramkinkar’, ''Kala Kaumaudi'', August 1980. *‘A Room Between Rooms’ (being an essay on the art of Ramkinkar), ''Nandan'', vol. 3, December 1980. *‘Sudhir Khastgir: A Critique’, ''Lalita Kala Contemporary'', vol. 31, April 1981. *‘….. And the Theme is Destiny’, (being an essay on the murals of Benodebehari Mukherjee), ''Nandan'', vol. 4, December 1981. *‘Faces of a Master’, (being an essay on the art of K.G. Subramanyan), ''Deccan Herald'', December 1981. *‘Rembrandt and the Image as Parable’, ''The Visva-Bharati Quarterly'', Vol. 46, 1982 *‘Painting, Creativity and Communication’, Silpa O Samaj, ''Midnapur Silpi Chakra'', 1983. *‘Sudhir Khastgir’, ''Indian Sculpture Today'', Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, 1983. *‘K.G. Subramanyan: A Case for Versatility’, K.G. Subramanyan, Samyojita, Bangalore, 1983. *‘Art Treatises and Art Education’, (being a study of the nature and function of the art writings of Nandalal, Leonardo and Klee), ''Nandan'', vol. 7, 1984. *‘Benodebehari’s Self-Portrait as an Artist’, ''Nandan'', vol. 8, 1985. *Translations of letters by Ravi Varma, Rabindranath and Abanindranath, ''Nandan'', vol. 9, 1986. *Catalogue article for K.G. Subramanyan’s exhibition of paintings by Kala Yatra at Bangalore, 1987. *Catalogue article for the exhibition of sculptures by Somnath Hore at Kala Yatra, Bangalore, 1987. *‘Reba Hore : Reality in a Tender Light’, ''Art Heritage'', vol. 8, New Delhi, 1989. *‘Versatile Expression’, ''The India Magazine'', vol. 9, no. 10, New Delhi, 1989. *‘Ramkinkarer Jalaranger Chabbi’, Ramkinkar, ed. ''Prakash Das'', 1989. *‘Ramkinkar’s Sculptures and Paintings’, (towards a catalogue raisonne) with J.J. Narzary, Ramkinkar, ed. ''Prakash Das'', 1989. *‘Of Myth and Fairy Tale’, conversation with K.G. Subramanyan, Of Myth and Fairy Tale: Recent Works, Birla Academy of Art and Culture and The Seagull Foundation of the Arts, Calcutta, 1989. *‘The recent Works’, Of Myth and Fairy Tale: Recent Works, Birla Academy of Art and Culture and The Seagull Foundation of the Arts, Calcutta, 1989. *‘Remembering Ramkinkar’, Conversation with K.G. Subramanyan, ''Art Heritage'', vol. 9, New Delhi, 1990. *‘Binodini and Other Portraits of Ramkinkar’, ''Nandan'', vol. 10, 1990. *‘Nandalal’s Concept of the Artist: An Overview’, ''Nandan'', vol. 11, 1991. *‘Nandalal Bose: Landscape Drawings’, catalogue article for exhibition of Nandalal’s landscape drawings, Nandan Art Gallery, ''Kala Bhavan'', August 1992. *Magazine Symposium on Modern Art, Prajavani, 1992. *Catalogue Article for exhibition of K.G. Subramanyan’s paintings, Sakshi Gallery, Madras, 1992. *‘The Home and the World in Ravi Varma’, Ravi Varma: New Perspectives, National Museum, New Delhi, 1993. *‘The Bengal School and the Modern Art Scene in Bengal: Some Observations’, Trends and Images, CIMA, Calcutta, 1993. *‘Homage to Stella Kramrisch’, catalogue article to exhibition at Nandan Gallery, Kala Bhavan, September 1993. *‘Li Gotami Govinda’, catalogue article to exhibition at Nandan, Kala Bhavan, November 1994. *‘Chittaprosad’, catalogue article to exhibition at Nandan Gallery, Kala-Bhavan, November 1994. *‘Pilgrims Progress’, K.G. Subramanyan: Recent Works, CIMA, Calcutta, December 1994. *‘Abanindranath’s Paintings based on the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Lavanya, August 1995. *‘Contemporary Indian Sculpture: The Madras Metaphor’, review article, Marg, September 1995. *‘Somnath Hore: Images of Discontent’, Somnath Hore: Bronzes, CIMA, Calcutta, November 1995. *‘Images of Experience’, Jogen: Oils and Drawings, CIMA, Calcutta, February 1996. *‘Abanindranath Tagore: Beyond Nationalism’, The Visva-Bharati News, May–August 1996. *‘Abanindranath Tagore’, catalogue article 125th Birth Anniversary exhibition, Nandan Gallery, Kala Bhavan, September 1996. * Entries on 9 Contemporary Indian Artists, ''The Dictionary of Art'', Macmillan, London 1996. *‘Post-modernism, New – Internationalism, Pluralism’, in Art Objects in A Post-modern Age. (conference proceedings) Mohile Parikh Centre for the Visual Arts, Mumbai, 1997. *‘Image and Imagination: Five Contemporary Artists in India’, review article, ''Marg'', vol. 48, no. 4, 1997. *‘Contemporary Indian Art: The Last Fifty years’, Tryst with Destiny, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 1997. *‘Early Abanindranath and Modern Western Art’, ''Nandan'', vol. 17, December 1997. *‘On the Drawings and the Recent Paintings of K.G. Subramanyan’, exhibition catalogue, K.G. Subramanyan: Paintings and Drawings, Seagull, December 1998. *‘Ganesh Pyne: His Life and Times’, review article, ''Marg'', vol. 50, no. 4, January 1999. *‘Modern Indian Art: An Overview’, ''Art Journal'' vol. 58, no. 3, Fall 1999, College Art Association, New York. *‘Santiniketan: Its Ideals and Its Masters’, Prabaha, An Exhibition of the Art of Bengal 1850–1999, Biswa Banga Sammalen, January 2000, Calcutta. *‘Of Roots and Differences’ Exile and Longing: Emerging Art Practices From Kerala, Lakeeran Art Gallery, Mumbai November 2000. *‘Abanindranath’s Arabian Nights: Native Flanerie and Anti-colonial Narration’, Nandan (Essays in Honour of K.G.Subramanyan), vol. 19, 1999, (published in December 2000). *‘Re-figuring Art, Re-articulating Figure: Indian Art 1870 – 1950’, Celebration of the Human Figure, Thinking Eye, New Delhi 2000. *‘Abanindranath and His Legacies’, ''Art of Bengal: Past and Present'', C I M A, Kolkatta 2001. *‘Among Viewers and Images: A Triptych’, ''Nandan'' vol. 21, Santiniketan 2001. *‘Abanindranath and His Legacies’, ''Art of Bengal: Past and Present'', CIMA, Kolkata 2001. *‘Jogen Choudhury’, Sidewinder (an exhibition of Contemporary Indian and British Artists, Kolkata/Delhi/Mumbai), CIMA, Kolkata, February 2002. *‘Ravinder Reddy’, Sidewinder (an exhibition of Contemporary Indian and British Artists, Kolkata/Delhi/Mumbai), CIMA, Kolkata, February 2002. *‘Culture specificity, Art Language and the Practice of Modernism: An Indian Perspective’, ''Contemporary Indian Art: Other Realities'', Marg Publications, Mumbai, March 2002. *‘When was Modernism’, (Riview of Geeta Kapur’s book ''When was Modernism and Other Essays''), Marg vol.53, no.3, March 2002. *‘Sanat Kar: Musings without Angst’, Sanat Kar: A Retrospective of Bronzes and Prints, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata September 2002. *‘Modern Indian Art: Circa 1850 to 2000’, ''Art Ways'' 2002, South Eastern Railway, Kolkata 2002. *‘Jogen Choudhury’, exhibition catalogue, Gallery Bose Pacia Modern, New York, October 2002. *‘An Image From the Hinterland’, ''Nandan'', vol.22, December 2002 *‘Aban-takurer Arabya-rajani: Deshi Flanerie evam’, Evam Musaira’, vol. 9, no. 4, January- March 2003. *Catalogue text, Exhibition of Silkscreen prints by Kala Bhavana Teachers, Karzan Gallery, Vadodara, August 2004. *‘Remembering Bhupen’, A Tribute to Bhupen Khakhar, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai August 2004. *‘Nandalal’s Drawings’, Searching Lines, No. 2, Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, December 2004. *‘Benodebehari Mukhopadhyaya: Ekti Samiksha’, Bangadarshan 8–9, January–December 2004. *‘The Bhuddha and the Labyrinth of Bodies: Viewing the Ramp Obliquely’, The Ramp: a sculpture by K.S. Radhakrishnan, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, October 2204, Uttarayan Baroda, Vadodara, December 2004, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai January 2005 and Galerie Sara Arakkal, Bangalore April 2005. *‘Jogen Choudhury: Lyric and Enigmatic Visions’, in Jogen Choudhury: Enigmatic Visions, Glenbara Art Museum, Japan, January 2005. *‘Blindness, Self, World and Art: Some Ruminations on Benodebehari, Chabi-lekha, Kolkata Vol. 2, 2005. *‘Indigenous Modernism in Bengal: A Few Facets’, Catalogue introduction to an exhibition early modern art from Bengal in the collection of the Birla Academy, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, 21 to 5 February March 2006. *‘Benodebehari Muhkopadhyay: Ekti Samiksha’, Bangadarshan, vol. 8–9 Magh- Poush 1410–11 (January – December 2004), Pub. February 2006, pp. 33– 70. *'Notes on Benode Behari, Ram Kinkar, K. G. Subramanyan, Somnath Hore, Sarbari Roy Choudhuri, and Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Faces of Indian Art: Through the Lens of Nemai Ghosh', Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, September 2007. *‘Intra Asian Transactions in Art’, Nandan, Ramkinkar Baij Centenary Number, Santiniketan, December 2007, pp. 23–28. *‘Colonialism, Cross Cultural Contact and Modernism’, ''Nandan'' vol.27, Santiniketan, December 2008. *‘Nandalal: His Vision of Art and Art Education’, ''Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose'', San Diego Museum of Art, California, February 2008. , pp. 80–91 *‘Ramkinkar Baij and Modernism’s Dual Commitments’, Santal Family Positions around an Indian Sculpture, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp 2008. *‘Sara Abraham: Connoisseur and Collector’, Celebrating Sara: Sara Abraham's Collection of Art Over Fifty Years, TnQ Books and Journals, Chennai, February 2008. *‘Images of an Enchanting Journey’, An Enchanting Journey: Paresh Maity's Kerala, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi 2008. *‘Remembering a Friend as Printmaker’, Suranjan Basu 1957–2002: A Retrospective, Seagull Foundation for the Arts, Kolkata November 2008, pp. 81–88. *‘Travels into Liminality with Musui’, K.S. Radhakrishnan: Liminal Figures Liminal Space, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, November 2008. *‘Santiniketan:una comunidad de artistas e ideas’, India Moderna, Casa Asia –Institut Valencia d’Art Moderna, (authors: Juan Guardiola, John Falconer, K G Subramanyan, Deepak Ananth, Geeta Kapur and R Siva Kumar), Valencia – Spain, 2008, *‘Santiniketan: Its Ideals and its Masters,’ From the Everyday to the Imagined: An Exhibition of Indian Art, (Authors: Jan Wee and R Siva Kumar), Singapore Art Museum, Singapore and Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2008. ISBN / *‘Representing the Nation: Two paintings by Abanindranath’, ''Art and Deal'' Vol. 6, No.1, January 2009, pp. 24–27. *‘Globalism, Rabindranath and Some Thoughts on Location’, ''Assam University Journal: Humanities and Social Sciences'', Vol. 4, No.1, January 2009. *‘Santiniketan: A Development in Three Movements’, Gayatri Singha Ed. ''Art and Visual Culture in India 1857–2007'', Marg Publications, Mumbai, January 2009, pp. 104–117. *‘A Priliminary Note on Khuddur Jatra’, Khuddur Jatra, Prarikshan, Kolkata, 2009 *‘Somnath Hore:A Reclusive Socialist and Modernist’, ''Bengal Art: New Perspectives, Praikshan Essays in the Arts'' 1, Kolkatta 2010, pp. 55–78. *‘Somnath Hore: A Socialist and Modernist Artist’, Somnath Hore, ''Prints, Drawings, Posters, Kala Bhavan and Seagull'', February 2011, pp. 44–96 *‘Catalogue Introduction’, ''Arun Pal: Paintings and Drawings'', Nandan Gallery, Santiniketan, March 2011. *‘Rabindranath Tagore como Pintor y Catalizador del Arte Indio Moderno’ Redescubriendo a Tagore, Amaranta, Indo-Latin American Cultural Initiative, Bombay in Collaboration with Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 2011. , pp. 155–169. *‘The Arabian Nights and the Web of Stories’, Art Etc., Kolkata June 2012, pp. 26–29. *‘Mural Shilpy Subramanyan’, Anustup, Vol 47, No. 1, Autumn 2012, pp. 851–864. *‘An Extraordinary Cohesiveness’, Sudhir Patrwardhan The Guild, November 2012. *'Preface to Between Darkness and Magic: Examining the Kerala Metaphor', CIMA Gallery, Kolkata, 7 December 2012 to 5 January 2013 *‘A Celebration of this Oddly Mixed-up Scene’, introduction to K G Subramanyan exhibition at the Focus Gallery, Chennai, January 2013. *‘Ramkinkar Baij and Modern Indian Sculpture’, ''Take on Art'', Vol. 3, No. 10, January 2013 , pp. 32–35 *‘Jogen Choudhury: Lyric and Enigmatic Visions’, Jogen Choudhury Retrospective, Nandan Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan 11–28 February 2013, pp. 4–8. *‘Santiniketan. Eine Welt-Universität, Raman Siva Kumar in Gespräch mit Regina Bittner und Kathrin Rhomberg’, Das Bauhaus in Kalkutta. Eine Begegnung kosmopolitischer Avantgarden, Bauhaus Edition 36, Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern 2013, pp. 111–118. *‘Lord, let each day of mine be a festival, a celebration: A conversation between R. Siva Kumar and K. G. Subramanyan,’ K. G. Subramanyan: New Works, Seagull Foundation for the Arts, Kolkata 2014.

References

External links

"Interview with R. Siva Kumar"

* ttps://humanitiesunderground.org/all-the-shared-experiences-of-the-lived-world/ "ALL THE SHARED EXPERIENCES OF THE LIVED WORLD, part-I"
"ALL THE SHARED EXPERIENCES OF THE LIVED WORLD, part-II""R.Siva Kumar speaking on the Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore, at Smithsonian American Art Museum, Part-I""R.Siva Kumar speaking on the Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore, at Smithsonian American Art Museum, Part-II"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, R. Siva 1956 births Living people Indian art historians Scholars from Kerala 20th-century Indian educational theorists Indian art curators Indian art critics Indian art educators Visva-Bharati University alumni Academic staff of Visva-Bharati University Indian curators Indian arts administrators

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

20th-century Indian historians Historians of Indian art