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Died: March 29, 1996 in Mumbai, India.
The time has passed for artists to be patronised. They must now have a standing of their own. K. K. Hebbar
Untitled, drawing, undated. (73.7 Kbytes)
During his Kerala years, Hebbar was highly influenced by Gaugin and Amrita Sher-Gill. The work covering more or less a decade from 1946, were extremely influential. One of his biggest influences on contemporary Indian art was his excellent draughtsmanship. He was first exposed to an international audience in 1965 during the exhibition "Art Now in India", in London and Brussels.
Hill Station, oil on canvas, 19??. (728.3 Kbytes)
Hebbar held that an artist's role was to tell the truth about his feelings without bringing in other ideas. His opposition to politicising art was the reason why he never joined the Progressive Artists' Group. Nevertheless, he played an active part in the organisation of artists in Bombay.
The Jehangir Art Gallery was funded by Sir Cowasji Jehangir at the urging of Hebbar and Homi Bhabha. Hebbar himself helped to arrange the first exhibition--- a collection of paintings by Jamini Roy. He was also responsible for the founding of the Chemould Art Gallery.
When elected a fellow of the National Academy, he received a sizeable amount of money, which he used to encourage upcoming artists. He also designed a frame for paintings, now used extensively, and called the Hebbar profile.