Early life and education

Jehangir Ardeshir Sabavala was born to an affluent Parsi

Parsi

Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....

 family in Bombay (now Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

), India. His mother belonged to the aristocratic Cowasjee Jehangir family. He studied at Cathedral and John Connon School

Cathedral and John Connon School

The Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational, private school located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, established in 1860.According to the Education World-C fore Survey of Schools 2010, the school has been ranked first in the all India ranking of the best schools in India.It was ranked...

, Elphinstone College

Elphinstone College

Elphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Mumbai. It was exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant alumni...

, and earned a diploma from Mumbai's Sir J. J. School of Art

Sir J. J. School of Art

The Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art , is the oldest art institution in Mumbai, and is affiliated with the University of Mumbai...

 in 1944. Thereafter he went to Europe and studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art

Heatherley School of Fine Art

The Heatherley School of Fine Art was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as principal from James Mathews Leigh . Founded in 1845, the school is affectionately known as Heatherley's...

, London, (1945-47), and in Academie Andre Lhote

André Lhote

André Lhote was a French sculptor and painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also very active and influential as a teacher and writer on art....

, Paris (1948-51), the Académie Julian

Académie Julian

The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...

 (1953-54), and finally at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The school was founded in 1902 by the Swiss Martha Stettler , who refused to teach the strict academic rules of painting of the École des Beaux-Arts. It opened the way to the "Art Indépendant"...

 in 1957.

Career

Sabavala did not allow archives of his 12 scrapbooks on materials from the early 1940s to the 2000 online. Arun Khopkar's film on Sabavala's life and art, Colours of Absence, won the National Award in 1994. In 2010, another film about his life was made, The Inheritance of Light: Jehangir Sabavala. His last solo exhibition, 'Ricorso', was held at the Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, in 2008.

Personal life

Jehangir was married to Shirin Dastur, whom he met at the London School of Economics

London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

.

Awards

• Padma Shri
  Padma Shri
  Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
  
   by the Government of India - 1977
• Lalit Kala Ratna, the Fellowship of Lalit Kala Akademi
  Lalit Kala Akademi
  The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art is India's National Academy of Arts. It was an autonomous organization, established at New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country...
  
  , India's National Academy of Arts, by the President of India - 2007

Books on the Artist

• Dilip Chitre
  Dilip Chitre
  Dilip Purushottam Chitre was one of the foremost Indian writers and critics to emerge in the post Independence India. Apart from being a very important bilingual writer, writing in Marathi and English, he was also a painter and filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Baroda on 17 September 1938...
  
  , The Reasoning Vision: Jehangir Sabavala’s Painterly Universe. (Tata McGraw Hill, Mumbai 1980) ISBN 978-00709662-2-2
• Ranjit Hoskote
  Ranjit Hoskote
  Ranjit Hoskote is a contemporary Indian poet, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator.-Early life and education:...
  
  , Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolution of Jehangir Sabavala. (Eminence Designs, Mumbai 1998) ISBN 81-900602-2-8
• Ranjit Hoskote, The Crucible of Painting: The Art of Jehangir Sabavala. (Eminence Designs/ National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai 2005) ISBN 81-902170-9-7

External links

• Jehangir Sabavala profile at Saffronart
  Saffronart
  Saffronart is a Mumbai based auction house specializing in Indian art that was founded in 2000. They have galleries in Mumbai, New York, and London, though they are most well known for their online art auctions, which have been the subject of a case study by Harvard Business School. One auction in...
  
  
• The Inheritance of Light: Jehangir Sabavala