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BIOGRAPHY

He was born in Calcutta, West Bengal. Famous as a painter yet a versatile artist, widely acknowledged as revivalist of tradition but very progressive in outlook and approach to art and life, Asit Haldar had a rich wealth of styles, techniques and themes in a variety of his works scattered all over India and abroad. Haldar proved his creative talents quite early in his life. He had his roots in the rich cultural heritage of India. He tried to rediscover the canons of Oriental Art through his works the lines, the form, the colours, and above all, the spirit. His paintings have a strong poetic content, which deeply touches one`s feelings . Even a man like Rabindranath Tagore drew inspiration for his poems from Haldar`s work, specially his sensitive brush drawings of lyrical scenes from village life. Inspite of executing copies of fresco paintings at Ajanta caves between 1909 and 1921 with Lady C.J. Herringham, his own style of work remained unaffected.

Career
From 1909 to 1911 he was in the Ajanta documenting the frescoes. He did this on an expedition with Lady Herringham, and in conjunction with two other Bengali painters, the object of which was to bring cave art to a wider Indian audience. In 1921, he undertook another expedition, this time to the Bagh Caves and his reflections on the art there indicate quite a few surrealistic depictions
From 1911 to 1915 he was an art teacher at Shantiniketan. He was also the principal of the Kala Bhavan school from 1911 to 1923, assisting Tagore with cultural and artistic activities. During this time, he introduced many different styles of art to the students, and revolutionized decorative and ceremonial displays there.

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