(8 May, 1934-19 May, 2005)
Shyamal Dutta Ray was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand,1934. He graduated from Government College of Arts and Crafts, Kolkata. Ray was known as a master of watercolor, and he was one of the founders of member of Society of Contemporary Artists in 1959, and of Painters 80, founded in 1968. In addition, he worked as art teacher at Jagadbhandu Institution in Calcutta.
Ray's work was very important in the history of the Bengal School of Art. He is known for making watercolors deeper and more intense, while others at the time used lighter and more watery colors. His sad and thoughtful paintings show the mixed feelings of life around him. Most of his works shows life in urban Calcutta, its poorest residents, the broken walls, crumbling plaster, cobweb-filled rooms and empty houses, also happiness and hope, with its mix of joy and sadness, struggle and conflict, poverty and hope. His paintings also have a sense of irony, surrealism, and awareness of a society falling apart. His color palette is subtle and sober and worked with different mediums such as, watercolors, pens and inks, serigraph, mix media and oils. He started his career using oil paints, but he had to switch to watercolors because he was allergic to oil paints, as advised by his doctor. The works also show a sense of irony, surrealism, and awareness of a society falling apart.
His artworks have been exhibited in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, and Bangalore. He has also been part of international exhibitions like the Third World Biennale of Graphics in London and the Havana Biennale in Cuba. His works are in collections at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Glenbarra Museum in Japan. He has received many honours: the Award of Merit from the Lalit Kala Academy, the Shiromani Kala Puraskar, and the Special Commendation of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad.
Shyamal Dutta Ray died in 19 May, 2005.
