R. Siva Kumar

At 67 years old, R. Siva Kumar physical status not available right now. We will update R. Siva Kumar's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Since 1981, Professor Siva Kumar, who is often considered to be "the most erudite and self-effacing art historian" of his time, has been teaching art history at Kala Bhavana, where he has held several offices, including that of the Principal. His writings on Abanindranath Tagore and the Santiniketan artists have contributed a new perspective on them by shifting the critical focus from nationalist revivalism to a context sensitive modernism. Among his curated exhibitions Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism commissioned to mark the fifty years of Indian independence, Benodebehari: A Centenary Retrospective (co-curated with Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh) and The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore commissioned to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore are considered landmark exhibitions. The reputed Indian Magazine, Frontline reported, "The best show was the one (celebrating 50 years of Indian Independence) curated by R. Siva Kumar of Santiniketan, 'The Making of a Contextual Modernism', exhibiting about a hundred works each of Nandalal Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Ram Kinker Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee". While The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore was shown at ten major museums of the world including the Museum of Asian Art, Berlin; Asia Society, New York; National Museum of Korea, Seoul; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Petit Palais, Paris; National Gallery of Modern Art, Rome; National Visual Arts Gallery, Kuala Lumpur; McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Ontario; and National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi.

In a review of Rabindra Chitravali in The Statesman, German scholar Martin Kämpchen (de) writes, "It collects excellently faithful reproductions of Rabindranath's paintings in large format. The editor, Kala Bhavan's art historian, Prof R . Siva Kumar, has spent his entire working life researching the Bengal School of Art, especially the Santiniketan crop of painters. This is the crowning achievement in this hard-working and self-effacing scholar's career."

For the Royal Asiatic Society, Cambridge Journals, W. Andrew Robinson wrote, "The unparalleled quality of the volumes' reproductions, made from new scans of the original works kept in Santiniketan, in New Delhi and elsewhere, and printed by India's leading art printer, Pragati Offset, based in Hyderabad, is thrillingly good. Rabindra Chitravali: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore is surely one of the finest art books to have been produced in India.

Closely associated with the critical traditions of the Santiniketan his writings on Abanindranath and the Santiniketan artists have been recognised as making an important contribution to the reassessment and critical reception of these artists. Reviewing his book Paintings of Abanindranath Tagore Tapati Guha Takurta wrote: ‘With this magnum opus on Abanindranath Tagore, Siva Kumar can be seen to have traversed full circle within this particular lineage of art practice and art writing in Bengal. An art historical journey that began with and has continuously returned to the work of K. G. Subramanyan, has tracked its course backwards in time to mark out its significant inheritance, not just of the Santiniketan masters (Nandalal Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij), but also in the little-known oeuvre of the later Abanindranath.'

In 2013 he was awarded by the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi for his book Ram Kinkar Baij – A Retrospective.

R. Siva Kumar also received a special award from the University of Dhaka for his contribution to the Indian art scene.

Source

• 'Kesari Puraskaram'for contribution to art writing, Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi, 2010.
• 'Manojmohan Smarak Puraskar' for book on Ramkinkar Baij, Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi, 2013.
• Felicitated with a plaque of special Honour by the Dhaka University, 2013.
• Awarded the title 'Rabindra Tattwacharya' by the Tagore Research Institute, Kolkata, 2015.
• Awarded 'Lifetime Achievement Award for Art History and Art Criticism' by the Government of West Bengal, 2018.