Narayan Shridhar Bendre (1910 - 1992)

In 1943 Bendre was hailed by the Times of India as the leading artist of his generation and to his further credit his artistic vision became a driving force for the artists that were to follow in his wake.  For a brief period he taught M. F. Husain and encouraged other artists including Ara to continue with their vocation.  Ironically as the modernist thrust of the artists that he had taught began to capture the imagination of the Indian art scene his own style began to be overlooked, but in retrospect he must be considered one of the most important Indian artists of the twentieth century.