Painter Mehar Singh passes away

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 26

Renowned portrait artist Mehar Singh breathed his last today. A master of Indian realism, he was duly awarded and rewarded for his contribution to the field of art. He was honoured as the state artist by the Punjab Government and had served as the president of the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi and vice-president of the Punjab Art Council. He received the Punjab Rattan Award in 2012 for his life-time achievements.

Mehar Singh started his initial art training while being a school student in Lahore, under celebrated artist Sobha Singh. Post Partition, he followed his ‘ustaad’ to Andretta. Mehar Singh joined the American Embassy, New Delhi, in 1958, making busts and portraits of various American presidents during his decade-plus tenure. A portrait of the then President, Richard Nixon, fetched him a signed letter of commendation from the President himself.

Artist RM Singh expressed his condolences to the bereaved family on the behalf of the S Sobha Singh Memorial Art Society. He remembered Mehar Singh as an artist par excellence. “The art of realistic portraiture is a challenging field. His art was no ordinary, he had this unique palette,” he said. While Mehar Singh was considered one of the first disciples of Sobha Singh, RM Singh was amongst the last. The latter termed it a huge loss for the artistic community. “He was an inspiration to me and artists all over. To reach the position that he did needs consistent hardwork. He treated his work as a meditation,” he said. Mehar Singh moved to Chandigarh in the late 80s and continued to work till about a decade back with unparalleled zeal. In the past few years, he moved to Delhi with his sons. His son Charanjit Singh said: “He was not keeping well for the past few months. He breathed his last today around 10.15 am.”