Region’s renowned artist remembered on 125th birth anniversary

SG Thakar Singh, a celebrated and prominent artist and founder president of Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar, was remembered as people of the city paid tributes to him on his 125th birth anniversary on September 6. Known for his body of work, which celebrated Indian womanhood and royalty, Thakar Singh was born in 1899 in Verka, a small quaint village near Amritsar. From learning to draw with charcoal on the walls of his mud house in the village to being awarded by the Queen in 1924 for his most famous painting, ‘After Bath’, Thakar came a long way. He was designated as the state artist for 10 princely states of India. His patrons’ list included names such as the Nawab of Pataudi, Rabindranath Tagore, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Nora Richards and Russian artist Nicholas Roerich.

He came together with his contemporaries GS Sohan Singh, Hari Singh, Sobha Singh and others to found the Indian Academy of Fine Arts to nurture the region’s artists. “He was among the most celebrated artists of during the 1920s, in India. The Queen herself had congratulated Thakar for his painting and he went on create a series of paintings based on the theme,” says Dr PS Grover, artist and general secretary, Indian Academy of Fine Arts (IAFA).

IAFA chairman RMS Chinna inaugurated an exhibition of his paintings which will be displayed over the next few days to mark his birth anniversary. “Several of his works, which are over 100 year old now, have been preserved by the gallery. We want people to come and see his brilliance as it is a part of our cultural and creative heritage,” he said.