Shanti Dave (born 25 September 1931) is an Indian painter and sculptor, considered by many as one of the major Indian artists of the twentieth century. He is a former member of 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 ...

and the

Sahitya Kala Parishad Sahitya Kala Parishad (साहित्य कला परिषद) (Academy of Performing and Fine Arts) is the Cultural wing of the Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) of Delhi for music, dance, drama & fine arts, established ...

. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1985.

Biography

Dave was born on 25 September 1931 at the northern

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

village of Badpura as one of the four children of a rural family of modest means. He did his education from The

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a public university on April 30, 1949 and was renamed after ...

in 1951 from where he completed his graduate and post graduate studies in Faculty of Fine Arts. He started his career as a commercial artist doing banners and sign boards but slowly made his mark as a painter, which earned him several notable assignments such as at the VIP Lounges of

JFK Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is t ...

(New York) and at the

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

booking offices in New York, Los Angeles, Rome, Sydney, and Perth.Gargi Gupta, "Distress sale?", ''Business Standard''
January 24, 2013
/ref> The mural at the airport was published by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

on its front page on 5 February 1964 under the title, ''Little Gujarat''. Dave's works are abstract and use encaustic and ''wax with oil paint'' techniques together with

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

. He has done several murals of large proportions which incorporate wood block painting, stone carving and weaving. He did his first solo exhibition in 1957 followed by several others in many parts of the world and has participated in many group exhibitions at places such as Philippines, Switzerland, London, Japan, France, East Europe and the Middle East. His creations are on display at art galleries like the

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 ...

, New Delhi and many public places and his paintings have been sold at notable auction houses such as

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

and

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

and

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought t ...

. Dave is a former member of the

and has served as a member of the executive board of the

Awards and recognition

Dave has won the

three years consecutively from 1956 to 1958. The

awarded him the civilian honour of

in 1985.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dave, Shanti 1931 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Painters from Gujarat 20th-century Indian painters Indian male painters Indian arts administrators Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni 20th-century Indian male artists

Biography

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links