Harish Raut (7 November 1925 – 2002) was an Indian artist who developed a distinctive figurative style. Idealized

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

women, going about their daily chores was the main subject of his work. His early work was based on the rural realities of his hometown

Bordi Bordi is a coastal village in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India. It is located in Dahanu taluka. It is a tourist destination due to its beach and natural environment. It is also famous for the Chickoo fruit and has many Chikoo farms. A ...

and the neighbouring town of Bassein,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. Rural India continued to inspire him and he found his muse once again in the women of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Raut graduated with a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

in painting from the J.J School Fine Art in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

in 1952. For many of his early years he worked as a clerk but continued to paint developing a strong personal signature style. In less than a decade his work was winning awards all over India. Over the course of his long career he had 53 one man shows in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

References

* ''Artists Directory, Covering Painters, Sculptors and Engravers'' - Lalit Kala Akademi (1961), * ''Bombay Art Society's Art Journal'' (1962), * ''A History of Indian Painting: The Modern Period'' by Krishna Chaitanya

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raut, Harish Indian male painters 1925 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Indian painters People from Thane district Painters from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian male artists