Artist Sukhvir Sanghal was an Indian artist popularly known for his wash paintings. Sanghal used Chinese and Japanese wash techniques to make artworks based on literary epics.
“He [Sanghal] was a humble and introverted artist who never sought publicity or recognition—he preferred to let his art speak for itself,” said Priyam Chandra, Sanghal’s granddaughter.
In efforts to immortalise the artist’s legacy, Chandra left her career and returned to India to dedicate herself to preserving and promoting her grandfather’s art.
The exhibition, ‘Museum On The Wheels’, curated by Chandra — displaying the artist’s 45 paintings — was recently on view at Delhi’s Lalit Kala Academy. Some of his popular works including ‘River of Life’, ‘Phases of Life’, ‘Marriage’, ‘Arjuna as an Ideal Man’, ‘Indian Life’, ‘Ramcharit’, and ‘Kashmir Landscapes’, were also a part of the exhibition.
Born on July 14, 1914, in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, Sanghal actively participated in India’s freedom struggle.
His early passion for art led him to Lucknow's Government School of Arts and Crafts, where he studied and later served as its principal until 1973. In 1938, Sanghal founded Kala Bharti in Prayagraj, an institution devoted to fine arts, classical music, and dance. A prolific writer and thinker, Sanghal authored books like, Bhartiya Chitrakala Paddhati and Evolution of Art and Artist.
Sanghal’s contribution to Indian art earned him numerous national recognitions from the Delhi’s All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), the Bombay Art Society in Mumbai, and Calcutta’s Academy of Fine Arts. His iconic painting ‘Thou Art Dust, to Dust Returnest’ was also acquired for the Royal Collection by British Emperor George V. He held a major solo exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi in 1992 and continued to paint and teach privately after his retirement in Lucknow.
Over the years Sanghal experimented with a number of different mediums using watercolours on wood and silk, embroidery on khadi cloth, and even sculpting.
“Time and again, visitors who encounter his work express awe and admiration, often exclaiming, ‘This should have been in a museum!’,” Chandra told TMS. “Through this exhibition, I hope to honour that sentiment and ensure his legacy continues to travel, inspire—and belong to everyone.”