Prof. Pralhad Anant Dhond to Commemorate his 111th Birth Anniversary with An Exhibition of Paintings by him
Mumbai, June 4: An exhibition
of watercolour paintings by celebrated Indian landscape painter Prof. Pralhad Anant Dhond
has been organized on the occasion of his 111th birth anniversary, said his
grandson Kedar Kamat.
The exhibition will be held from June 11 to 17 at the Jahangir Art Gallery,
Mumbai, from 11 am to 7 pm and it will be open to all. The exhibition will be
inaugurated at the hands of Raj Thackeray, a renowned cartoonist and the chief
of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, on June 11 at 5.30 pm. Mr Thackeray will also
release a souvenir ‘Dhawal Resha’ – based on the life of Dhond Sir – on this
occasion. In this book, Raj has paid tribute to Dhond Sir in a novel way by
drawing his caricature. In addition to this, several students of Dhond Sir and
eminent personalities have expressed their affection towards him by writing
articles and remembering their memories about Dhond Sir. Eminent
personalities like Prof Narendra Vichare, honorary director,
Padmabhushan Vasantdada Patil College of Applied Arts, Neena Rege, director, Nehru
Centre Art Gallery along with the family members of Prof. Dhond including
his grandson Kedar Kamat were present in the press meet.
Mr Kamat said, “Dhond Sir
devoted nearly 70 years of his life for the art. He remained a prolific painter
even at the age of 92. Till his last breath, he remained dedicated towards the
art. The white lines in the landscape was the main feature of this paintings.
This exhibition is a small attempt to revive the art of watercolour landscape,
which is on the verge of getting extinct. The exhibition has been organized
with an aim to inspire today's generation with his paintings and recall his
memories. We plan to hold many such exhibitions of his paintings not only
in Maharashtra, but also across India if we get the support of Dhond Sir’s
followers and the government.”
On this occasion,
Rupali Kedar Kamat also read out a message sent by renowned artist
Prabhakar Kolte, who was also one of the students of Prof. Dhond. In his
message, Kolte, recalling his memories with Dhond Sir, said, "We were
fortunate to have a mentor like Dhond Sir. Today, it is not possible to get a
tutor like him. Our relation with him was not just limited to as students and a
teacher, but we were like friends. Dhond Sir’s era belonged to landscapes and
portraits. He was precise in deciding which colours should be used, which
colours should be mixed, where to start and to finish the drawing. A devoted
art teacher, he was unhappy with students who easily fell to market demand
instead of working on their instincts. He used to say today’s generation should
look upon painting not as a profession, but as a passion. They should
introspect on what exactly is needed in the drawing. Painting cannot be taught,
it has to be learnt by observation. The uniqueness of the drawing should always
be visible. The artist should read a lot to understand what is going on across
the world. The exhibition of paintings of Dhond Sir will enable today’s artists
to observe its beauty and also figure out the similarities and differences in
his and their paintings. This will help them to make rapid strides as a painter
in future, he said.
Prof. P. A. Dhond was born in 1908
in Ratnagiri. He completed a diploma in Arts in 1934 and then did his Art
Master’s in 1937, standing first in order of Merit. He also worked as the dean
of Sir J. J. School of Art from 1958 to 1968 and then as the Director of Art,
Maharashtra State, from 1968 to 1969. His autobiographical book ‘Raapan’
received a State Government’s award and was also acclaimed by critics in
newspapers and readers. Due to his impressive coating style of water colours
and unique handling of landscapes, he is considered as one of India’s
celebrated landscape painters. His exceptional paintings have been archived at
various art galleries, museums and universities in India. In addition to this,
his paintings are also in collection of well-known institutes of several
countries in Germany, USA, South Africa, East Africa, Russia etc; eminent
celebrities and art lovers in various fields.
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