Important Notice

Born in Calcutta to Rai Bahadur Saileswar Sen, a literature professor at Calcutta University, Bireswar Sen began studying painting in 1917 at the Indian Society of Oriental Art under the guidance of Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. He earned his M.A. in English literature from Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1921 and, two years later, joined B N College, Patna, as a lecturer in English.

Sen’s artistic style was deeply...
Born in Calcutta to Rai Bahadur Saileswar Sen, a literature professor at Calcutta University, Bireswar Sen began studying painting in 1917 at the Indian Society of Oriental Art under the guidance of Abanindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose. He earned his M.A. in English literature from Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1921 and, two years later, joined B N College, Patna, as a lecturer in English.

Sen’s artistic style was deeply influenced by the Bengal School, drawing inspiration from Pahari miniatures, Japanese ink wash painting, and Romanticism. A pivotal moment in his career came in 1932 when he met Russian painter and philosopher Nicholas Roerich. Encouraged by Roerich, Sen began creating Himalayan landscapes, relying on careful observation and note-taking to paint from memory. His works, executed exclusively on small sheets of paper no larger than playing cards or postcards, are distinguished by their striking contrast between the vastness of the subject and the intimate scale of the composition, often featuring minuscule human figures.

Sen exhibited across India as well as London, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, and New York during his career. Posthumous exhibitions include Between Heaven and Earth, curated by B N Gowswamy, at Anant Art Gallery in 2010; Time and Eternity (2016) at Crow Museum of Asian Art; and Reflections: Man and Nature in the Paintings of Bireswar Sen, shown at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi (2017), the Museu do Oriente, Lisbon (2019) and NGMA, Mumbai (2022). His works are also part of important museums and private collections.

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