(1917 - 1988)
Born in 1917 in Lahore, Dhanraj Bhagat received his diploma in the field from the Mayo School of Art in Lahore, after which he served as the head of the Sculpture Department at the College of Art, New Delhi, from 1947 to 1977. Bhagat’s work has been featured in several exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1978. He has participated in India’s first three Triennales; the All India Sculpture Exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, in 1954; and several shows held by the Bombay Art Society, Mumbai, the All India Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, and All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi. During his extensive career, Bhagat received many awards for his pioneering art, including the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1961, and the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1977, Bhagat passed away in 1988.