In 2016, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Santhal Couple (1930), offered in the Modern Indian Art by Asta Guru, which concluded on 22 March 2016 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹1,80,91,793 ($271,889). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
Introduction
- Date of Birth
- 25 May 1906
- Zodiac sign
- Gemini
- Date of Death
- 01 Aug 1980
- Age
- 74
- Place of Birth
- Jugipada, Bankura, West Bengal, India
- Place of Death
- Calcutta
- State Country of Birth
- West Bengal, India
1925
- Diploma in Fine Arts, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1925 – 1929
1930
- Appointed as an Assistant Teacher, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
- Member of Karusangh, An Association formed by eight Artists of Santiniketan, India
1931
- Works as an Art Teacher, Ushagram Missionary School, Asansol, India
1932
- Works as an Art Teacher in Modern School, New Delhi, India
1932 – 1933
1934
- Appointed as a Permanent Teacher in Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1940
- Makes an Outdoor Sculpture in cement titled Lamp Stand (274 CM) in front of old guest house. This is considered to be first piece of abstract sculpture in India
1947
- Member of the Visva Bharati Senate, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1951
- Promoted from Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1954
- Appointed a Member of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
1956
- Appointed President of Silpa-Katha ( A Study Circle on Art), Organised by the Teachers of Visva Bharati, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1968
- Promoted to the Temporary Post of a Professor in April for six months, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
- Participates in a Workshop on Graphic Art Organised by, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1969
- Appointed a Permanent Professor, a position in which he remains until his retirement
1976
- Fellowship, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
1979
- D. Litt., Rabindra Bharati University, Santiniketan, India
Exhibitions
1939
- Kala Bhavan Artists Exhibition, Banga Sahitya Parishad, Kolkata, India
1944
- Joint Exhibition with B.B. Mukherjee, Havell Hall, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
- Joint Exhibition with Benodebehari Mukherjee, Massey Hall, New Delhi, India
18 Oct 1944 to 21 Oct 1944
1946
- Exhibition of the works of Artists from 38 Countries, Modern Art Museum, Paris, France
1949
- All India Travelling Art Exhibition, Kolkata, India
- Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures of four Artists on Nepal's Aranya Parbat and the Life on it, Kolkata, India
1950
- Fifth International Exhibition of Abstract Art, held in, Salon de la Realites Nouvelles, Paris, France
- Exhibition of Teachers and Students of Kala Bhavan, held in Santiniketan, India
1951
- Exhibition with Kolkata Group, Kolkata, India
- Salon de Mai, Paris, France
1958
- Special Exhibition on Mahatama Gandhi, Visva Bharati Central Library, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India
02 Oct 1958 to 07 Oct 1958
1960
- On the Occasion of the students get-togather in November, a six day exhibition of Ramkinkar' work was held in Sinha Sadan
1961
- Paintings and Sculptures, Artist House, Kolkata Arts Council, Kolkata, India
26 Sep 1961 to 01 Oct 1961
1967
- Paintings and Sculptures, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
- Gaganendranath Tagore birth Anniversary Exhibition, Nandan, Santiniketan, India
1970
- Joint Exhibition of Ramkinkar and Benodebehari Mukherjee, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
19 Feb 1970 to 12 Mar 1970
1972
- Solo Exhibition, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, India
- Group Exhibition, Fiftieth Anniversary of Kala Bhavan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1973
- On the occasion of his sixty seventh birthday Rabindra Bhavan organised an exhibition of Ramkinkar's Paintings, sculptures and etchings
1974
- On the occasion of Rabindra Saptaha Kala Bhavan organizes an exhibition of Ramkinkar's Paintings, Sculptures and sketches
1960
- On the Occasion of the students get-togather in November, a six day exhibition of Ramkinkar' work was held in Sinha Sadan
1961
- Paintings and Sculptures, Artist House, Kolkata Arts Council, Kolkata, India
26 Sep 1961 to 01 Oct 1961
1967
- Paintings and Sculptures, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1972
- Solo Exhibition, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, India
1973
- On the occasion of his sixty seventh birthday Rabindra Bhavan organised an exhibition of Ramkinkar's Paintings, sculptures and etchings
1974
- On the occasion of Rabindra Saptaha Kala Bhavan organizes an exhibition of Ramkinkar's Paintings, Sculptures and sketches
1989
- Ramkinkar Baij - A Retrospective, Art Heritage, New Delhi, India
1990
- Retrospective, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, India
2012
- Ramkinkar Baij - A Retrospective, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
- Virtual Exhibitions, Ramkinkar Baij-A Retrospective, NGMA, New Delhi, India
Alkazi, Ebrahim (Editor). Art Heritage 9, 1989-1990 | Journal
1939
- Kala Bhavan Artists Exhibition, Banga Sahitya Parishad, Kolkata, India
1944
- Joint Exhibition with B.B. Mukherjee, Havell Hall, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
- Joint Exhibition with Benodebehari Mukherjee, Massey Hall, New Delhi, India
18 Oct 1944 to 21 Oct 1944
1946
- Exhibition of the works of Artists from 38 Countries, Modern Art Museum, Paris, France
1949
- All India Travelling Art Exhibition, Kolkata, India
- Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures of four Artists on Nepal's Aranya Parbat and the Life on it, Kolkata, India
1950
- Fifth International Exhibition of Abstract Art, held in, Salon de la Realites Nouvelles, Paris, France
- Exhibition of Teachers and Students of Kala Bhavan, held in Santiniketan, India
1951
- Exhibition with Kolkata Group, Kolkata, India
- Salon de Mai, Paris, France
1958
- Special Exhibition on Mahatama Gandhi, Visva Bharati Central Library, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India
02 Oct 1958 to 07 Oct 1958
1967
- Gaganendranath Tagore birth Anniversary Exhibition, Nandan, Santiniketan, India
1970
- Joint Exhibition of Ramkinkar and Benodebehari Mukherjee, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
19 Feb 1970 to 12 Mar 1970
1972
- Group Exhibition, Fiftieth Anniversary of Kala Bhavan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India
1974
- A Handbook of Sculptures, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
- A Handbook of Painting and Graphics, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
1975
- A Handbook of Bengal School, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
1979
- Exhibition of Asian Art, Fukuoka, Japan
03 Nov 1979 to 02 Dec 1979
- Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Lalit Kala Academi, New Delhi, India
1991
- Exhibition Organised by National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Nag Foundation, Bal Gangadhar Kala Dalan, Pune, India
Chronicled Highlights 91930 – 1997
Ramkinkar Baij was born in 1906 in Jugipada, Bankura, West Bengal, India.
Ramkinkar’s watercolours stand a little apart from the rest of his oeuvre. They represent his immediate response to visual facts and are free from pre-concepts and after thoughts… They were done on the spot and with great speed and often came in a series recording a perception or experience close on its heels… In his watercolours an unregulated expression of his sensibility comes through, in them Ramkinkar can be said to be chasing the transient
When Ramkinkar sat down with his sketch-pad before his landscape each common spot underwent a change. Each little detail came to throbbing life. He modest trees bristled up with a primitive vigour and the foliage took on a new sheen and vivacity. The sky played hide and seek with the barren earth, now zooming forward with a patch of blue, now going into hiding under a veil of grey. The seasonal nuances came out with great authenticity. In his company we saw nature in a new light
In 1998, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Landscape In Spring (1947), offered in the Twentieth Century Indian Art by Christie's, which concluded on 02 June 1998 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹3,14,479 ($7,539). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 2011, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Bust Of Ira Vakil (Nee Chaudhuri) (1947), offered in the Creative India Series 1: Bengal by Osian's, which concluded on 15 December 2011 at New Delhi, achieving a sale price of ₹28,80,000 ($53,102). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
Ramkinkar does a great number of landscapes with a rythmic spatial structure enlivened by judiciously laid washes and hatchings of brilliant colour in between; their varied densities and surface breaks accentuate the movement. Thematically they veer round the Santiniketan landscape, the Nepal panaroma, the Shillong lakes and hillsides; the rhythms vary with the location and the subject. The technique is, to an extent, modelled on Cezanne’s; the overall spatial statement is made with neutral washes, the spaces between are manipulated with colour layers of various stress and intensity forward or backward. But this, despite the linear drama, is prominent.
In 2006, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Threshing Series (1956), offered in the Masterpieces & Museum Quality Series VI: With Rare Drawings and Books on Indian Contemporary Art by Osian's, which concluded on 01 March 2006 at New Delhi, achieving a sale price of ₹13,80,000 ($31,116). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 2013, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Festive Eve (1960), offered in the South Asian Art by Christie's, which concluded on 19 December 2013 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹52,50,000 ($84,162). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
On 08 May 1997, made their debut in the Indian public auction market when A Monkey was presented as Lot in The Indian Sale, conducted by Sotheby's in London, UK. This auction marked the artist's first recorded appearance in the public auction market, establishing the earliest chapter of their auction history.
Economics of Art
Record-high lots9
1925
- Silver Medal at the Nikhilbharat Art Exhibition, Lucknow, India
1945
- Commission from the Government of Nepal to make some Sculptures for the War Memorial in Kathmandu, Nepal
1970
- Padma Bhushan, Government of India
1975
- Sangeet Nritya Akademi Prize, Rabindra Bharati University, Santiniketan, India
1977
- Honoured with highest title Deshikottam, of Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India
Research Centre
Posts 2
- Tuli Research Centre for India Studies presents All Living Souls - Expressed in the Modern and Contemporary Fine & Popular Indian Arts Curated by Neville Tuli As part of launching the 16th Research Category for India Studies - "The Animal-Human-Nature-Continuum" we present a fascinating exhibition of modern and contemporary Indian fine and popular arts and their expression of the ideas and forms related to the dialogue between animals and humans, and the larger cosmic and spiritual thoughts which abide therein. Please visit the Exhibition and see the artworks by modern and contemporary masters such as Rabindranath Tagore, D.P. Roy Chowdhury, M.F. Husain, J. Swaminathan, J. Sultan Ali, Somnath Hore, Ganesh Pyne, Manjit Bawa, K. Laxma Goud, Krishna Reddy, Jyoti Bhatt, Rekha Rodwittiya, Amit Ambalal, among others, along with vintage and rare prints from the pioneering Indian chromolithographic presses such as Chitrashala, Ravi Varma, Calcutta Art Studio, Chore Bagan & Kansaripara.
- "What does 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷 truly mean? Is freedom achieved at a single historic moment or period, or must self-rule be continually imagined, questioned and renewed? India's journey towards Swaraj was shaped not by one voice or one path, but through reform and resistance, revolution and non-violence, political thought, public protest, art, print, photography, cinema and the collective will of its people. The Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) presents 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗝: 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, a pioneering exhibition curated by Neville Tuli. Bringing together rare artworks, prints, photographs, books, film publicity art, political propaganda and visual-textual-audio archives, SWARAJ traces India's complex journey towards political self-rule and self-discovery. From early European coastal encounters, the Bengal Renaissance and the First War of Independence in 1857 to the rise of Bharat Mata, the Tiranga, Gandhiji's inspired satyagraha, civil disobedience and mass mobilisation, the exhibition explores how the idea of India was envisioned, contested and transformed. It journeys through revolutionary movements and non-violence, subaltern uprisings, the Partition, the Constitution, the integration of the Princely States, the Emergency, wars, civic dissent and people's protests. It also foregrounds the vital role of artists, photographers, publishers, newspapers, journals, cartoons and cinema in recording and shaping the nation's political consciousness. SWARAJ invites us to encounter history not as something distant or settled, but as a daily living inheritance that continues to influence who we are and how we understand freedom, identity, and ourselves today. Watch the video for a glimpse into this expansive visual journey, and follow the exhibition as it revisualises India's political history through art, image, text and sound.
Calendar 2
- ArchivedOpening PreviewProject 82SWARAJ - Revisualising India's Political HistoryAn Exhibition of Modern & Contemporary Fine & Popular Arts, Photography, Film Memorabilia and Visual-Textual-Audio Archive12th August 20266:00 PM - 9:00 PMVisual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi,The Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) announces its seventh exhibition. “Swaraj – Revisualising India's Political History” -- An exhibition of Modern and Contemporary Fine and Popular Arts, Photography, Film Memorabilia and Visual-Textual-Audio Archives. Swaraj will open at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 12 August 2026 at the Visual Arts Gallery and will remain open till 7 p.m. Sunday, 16 August 2026. Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) presents SWARAJ | Revisualising India's Political History, a pioneering inter-disciplinary offline-online exhibition conceptualised and curated by Neville Tuli with Team T.R.I.S.. SWARAJ explores India's journey towards political self-rule and self-discovery through a remarkable collection of rare modern and contemporary fine and popular arts, albums, photographs, books, prints, propaganda, cartoons, film publicity artworks and other "text-visual-audio" archives contextualised within a clear historical framework, which defines T.R.I.S.' pedagogic approach to learning. The Exhibition will be of particular interest to students and scholars of India & Cultural Studies, and India's political and modern histories as well as those interested in the passage of events and ideas from the mid-1850s leading up to the turn of the 21st century. Unique to the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies is the richness of visual material that not only exhorts a deeper understanding of the art and archival materials on display but also brings alive the multi-layered narratives of the exhibition and naturally India's journey in being ad searching for herself.Read More →
- ArchivedExhibitionProject 81SWARAJ - Revisualising India's Political HistoryAn Exhibition of Modern & Contemporary Fine & Popular Arts, Photography, Film Memorabilia and Visual-Textual-Audio Archive12th - 19th August 202610:00 AM - 7:00 PMVisual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi,19The Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) announces its seventh exhibition. “Swaraj – Revisualising India's Political History” -- An exhibition of Modern and Contemporary Fine and Popular Arts, Photography, Film Memorabilia and Visual-Textual-Audio Archives. Swaraj will open at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 12 August 2026 at the Visual Arts Gallery and will remain open till 7 p.m. Sunday, 16 August 2026. Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) presents SWARAJ | Revisualising India's Political History, a pioneering inter-disciplinary offline-online exhibition conceptualised and curated by Neville Tuli with Team T.R.I.S.. SWARAJ explores India's journey towards political self-rule and self-discovery through a remarkable collection of rare modern and contemporary fine and popular arts, albums, photographs, books, prints, propaganda, cartoons, film publicity artworks and other "text-visual-audio" archives contextualised within a clear historical framework, which defines T.R.I.S.' pedagogic approach to learning. The Exhibition will be of particular interest to students and scholars of India & Cultural Studies, and India's political and modern histories as well as those interested in the passage of events and ideas from the mid-1850s leading up to the turn of the 21st century. Unique to the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies is the richness of visual material that not only exhorts a deeper understanding of the art and archival materials on display but also brings alive the multi-layered narratives of the exhibition and naturally India's journey in being ad searching for herself.Read More →
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