About Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was one of India's foremost cultural figures: a poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher and composer who became the first non-European recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Through his writings, music and educational vision, he played a defining role in shaping modern Indian identity. Tagore's artistic practice began with fantastical jottings and doodles in his notebooks and diaries before he turned to drawing and painting in his sixties. Despite this late start, he created one of the most distinctive bodies of work in the history of modern Indian art. Largely self-taught, he developed a deeply personal visual language, marked by enigmatic figures, imagined creatures and expressive forms that defied academic conventions that dominated Indian art under British rule. Tagore is seen by many as the father of modern Indian art, as his works resist any categorisation, and are visceral , dynamic, instinctive and powerful. In the 1970s, India officially designated Tagore as one of the country's nine 'National Art Treasures', noting that his artworks were considered of such cultural importance that they were not permitted to be exported from India any more. Tagore's artistic career spanned just over a decade, culminating when he died in 1941, making his drawings and paintings exceptionally rare. Combined with his towering cultural legacy and the continued strength of the market for Indian modern art, this scarcity has ensured enduring demand for his works among collectors and institutions.