Damerla Rama Rao (8 March 1897, in

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

– 6 February 1925) was an Indian artist. He was born to Physician Damerla Venkata Rama Rao and Lakshmi Devi as a second child in the group of five girls and four boys. Rao was married to Satya Vani in 1919. He was inclined towards the art of painting and sketching since childhood. Rao with his father went to Sisil N. Burns, who was the Dean of arts in Mumbai School of Arts in 1916. The sketches of an untrained, unexposed Rama Rao surprised and impressed the Dean which resulted in his admission directly into the third year of

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

course. His works were composed, decorative in nature and always compared to those of Puvs de Chavannes, the

post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

artist of Paris. Rama Rao was spotted by Sir O. J. Couldrey, principal of the

Government Arts College, Rajahmundry The Government College (Autonomous) is located on the banks of River Godavari in Rajamahendravaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. It has been recognized as the 'College with Potential for Excellence' by the University Grants Commission in 2016. Histor ...

who took him to Ajanta and Ellora for sketching the frescos and sculptures. It is said that Viceroy Lord Reading was so impressed with Rama Rao’s works that he purchased the painting "Godavari of Eastern Ghats." In 1923, Ramarao started ''rajahmundry chitra kalashala'' and trained many youngsters. His nude paintings were of a lady named ''nakula''. He is one of the first artists to paint nude paintings of Indian women. Some of his world-renowned paintings like ''siddartha ragodayam'', ''pushpaalankarana'', ''kaartika pournami'' were exhibited and won prizes not only in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta as well as London and Toronto. His paintings can be still found at Damerla Art Gallery situated near the Godavari railway station. He sent his paintings, ''Rushya Srunga Bhangam'' and ''Turpu Kanumallo Godavari'' to the exhibition organised by the Oriental Society. The Viceroy of India award was conferred to Rama Rao for his former painting and the latter was purchased by the then Viceroy of India

Rufus Daniel Isaacs Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, (10 October 1860 – 30 December 1935) was a British Liberal politician and judge, who served as Lord Chief Justice of England, Viceroy of India, and Foreign Secretary, the last Liberal to hold that ...

. He travelled through various locations in the country and in 1922 settled in

. He instituted the Andhra Society of Indian Arts. He organised a national level art exhibition in Rajahmundry, the first time in the region. He died on 6 February 1925.

Memorials

Varada Venkata Rathnam established an art gallery in the name of Satya Vani, which was inaugurated by

Durgabai Deshmukh Gammiḍidala Durgabāi Deshmukh, Lady Deshmukh (15 July 1909 – 9 May 1981) was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, social worker and politician. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and of the Planning Commission of Indi ...

in 1957. Damerla Rama Rao Memorial Art Gallery is established in Rajahmundry. It contains many of his pieces that were found or donated.

References

*Krishna Chaitanya, ''A history of Indian painting: the modern period'', p. 162 *http://ushadamerla.net/her%20inspiration.htm *http://ilovehyderabad.com/entertainment/art-gallery/painter-late-sri-damorla-rama-rao.htm
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Damerla Rama 20th-century Indian painters Telugu people 1897 births 1925 deaths Painters from Andhra Pradesh People from Rajahmundry Indian male painters 20th-century Indian male artists