Sayed Haider Raza: The Journey of an Iconic Artist

Illuminates... the life and times, and the art, of one of India's greatest painters -- Ashok Vajpeyi

Sayed Haider Raza was one of the greatest painters of modern India. This book traces his journey from his birthplace in Barbaria, Madhya Pradesh, to his involvement in the founding of the Progressive Artists' Group in Mumbai, the impact he made on the international art world in Paris, and his subsequent return to India in his last years.

Interwoven through the narrative are glimpses of his personal life -- his childhood and family, his interactions and friendships with fellow artists, and his relationship and marriage with the French artist Janine Mongillat.

Drawn from the letters, reminiscences and writings of Raza's friends and critics, and accompanied by reproductions of his masterly work, Yashodhara Dalmia's nuanced rendering is the definitive biography of one of the most significant artists born in this country.

Yashodhara Dalmia is an art historian and an independent curator based in New Delhi, India. She has written several essays, articles and reviews on contemporary Indian art. She is the author of Amrita Sher-Gil, The Making of Modern Indian Art and Buddha to Krishna. She has also co-authored Memory, Metaphor, Mutations. Dalmia has curated several art shows such as The Moderns which inaugurated the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai and the centenary show Amrita Sher-Gil: The Passionate Quest at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in 2014.