Atul Bose

Atul Bose (1898-1977), the artist was born at the district of Maimansingh in present day Bangladesh. He completed his primary education from there only and received his art education from the Jubilee Academy, Kolkata. Thereafter, he moved to England after achieving a scholarship from the University of Kolkata and was enrolled as a student in the Royal Academy. The rural landscapes of Bengal and the portraits which he had depicted won a worldwide acclaim. Besides, his portrayal of the Bengal famine appears as a real life documentation of the then Bengal. He created a stir by making a portrait of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee within mere fifteen minutes. He also skillfully drew  a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore which has still been conserved in the Governor’s House, Kolkata. The Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata may boast of its  priceless possession of an outstanding portrayal of Lady Ranu Mukherjee, done by the artist. The book, Rang Tulir Baire (Beyond the realm of Paint and Brush) by the artist, Paritosh Sen presents a valuable observation about the portraits created by Atul Bose, ‘Only then a portrait is best depicted when it surpasses the time that is loaded with its entire aesthetic qualities and goes beyond the portrayal of mere countenance of a particular person… is there anything new to say about the portraits created by Atul Bose? He is truely incomparable in this domain.’ The collection that Debovasha is going to present mainly contains invaluable sketches of portraits and landscapes. The keen observation of the artist is reflected in his Tour to Simla alongwith rivers, agricultural fields and cottages of rural Bengal. It also displays a coloured painting of one of the ghats of Benaras. The collection surely offers various portraits including those of his wife and eldest son. In 2022, an exhibition of the artist took place in Debovasha. On request of the art lovers, our endeavor is to revisit Atul Bose while presenting some of his still unseen works.