Born in Dhuri, Punjab in 1941, Manjit Bawa discovered his penchant for art early on in life. Encouraged by his brothers to pursue art, he attended the College of Art, New Delhi, in 1958. He studied under Abani Sen, who helped him develop a distinct style and to make the figurative idiom his own at a time when abstraction was dominant.
Making art a career
Bawa moved to Britain in 1964, where he continued his artistic practice and worked as a silkscreen painter. After spending eight years in England, during which he made sets for theatre and worked as a painter, the budding artist returned to India. Bawa and his brother converted a property into a guest house and the former continued to work on his paintings.
28 December 2020
