About the Artist
Gurupada Chitrakar (Naya, West Bengal, India 1965-2021)
Gurupada Chitrakar belonged to the chitrakar group who are the traditional painters of story-telling scrolls in Bengal, and often-times singers of the narratives found recorded in the scrolls.
(per British Museum biography)
Gurupada started painting Patachitra after the death of his father. He first participated in Tourism Fair in Asansol in 1977 when he was 11 years old. He paints and sings Patachitra songs with equal elan. He paints traditional pat and draws contemporary issues as well. He has participated in fairs in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore. He has travelled abroad in Britain, USA, Spain and in Italy. He has won the state award and Kalashree Award in 1997. In 2004 he has won the National Award.
(per artist's online biography).
I was sorry to learn that Gurupada Chitrakar passed away from the Covid-19 pandemic on June 29, 2021.