Sadanand Bakre 1920-2007

A pioneering sculptor and painter of modern India, Sadanand K. Bakre played a crucial role in introducing abstraction and modernist experimentation into Indian art. As the only sculptor among the founding members of the Progressive Artists’ Group, Bakre contributed significantly to the movement’s vision of creating a new artistic language for a rapidly changing nation.

Born in Baroda, Gujarat, in 1920, Bakre studied modelling and stone carving at Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, where he developed a strong foundation in sculptural practice. His artistic journey was briefly interrupted by service in the Air Force during the Second World War, but he soon returned to pursue a career in the arts. In 1947, alongside F. N. Souza, M. F. Husain, S. H. Raza, K. H. Ara, and H. A. Gade, he helped establish the Progressive Artists’ Group, one of the most influential collectives in the history of Indian modernism.

Influenced by European modernist ideas, particularly the formal innovations of Pablo Picasso and the poetic abstraction of Paul Klee, Bakre developed a distinctive style marked by fragmentation, geometric structuring, and expressive distortion. His sculptures and paintings explored the human figure through simplified forms, dynamic spatial relationships, and bold colour contrasts. After relocating to London, he gained international recognition and expanded his practice across both sculpture and painting. Today, Bakre is remembered as a key architect of Indian modernism whose work bridged sculptural sensibility with abstract visual expression.