Haren Das

Master printmaker Harendra Narayan Das, popularly known as Haren Das, was born in Dinajpur, present-day Bangladesh, on 1 February 1921. He earned a diploma in fine art with a specialisation in graphic arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta, in 1938, and later joined the institution as a lecturer. He introduced line engraving and etching to its curriculum and worked across woodcuts, engravings, linocuts, etchings, and lithographs, with woodcut becoming his particular strength. His prints were characterised by carefully balanced black-and-white compositions, fine detail, simplicity, and occasional colour. At a time when prints received limited attention in India, Das continued to exhibit extensively in India and abroad. His works documented the everyday life and idyllic landscapes of rural Bengal. He passed away in Calcutta in 1993.