(1917 – 2002)
Maniklal Banerjee was born in Barisal, Bangladesh in 1917. Known for his watercolours, he specialised in cloth painting, most notably on silk. He attended the Government College of Art and Craft in Calcutta from 1932 to 1937. A gifted artist, he received the very First Indian Government Scholarship for further studies in Art in 1939.

He later embarked upon a very successful career as an art teacher in the Government College of Arts And Crafts (Calcutta) from 1939 until his retirement in 1997. He received the prestigious Abanindra Puraskar Award in 1999.

Considered one of the master colourists of his period, his palette and deft use of colours and lines gave life to compositions inspired mainly by the tradition and rural life of Bengal, nature, Indian ideologies, philosophical aspects, and Tantric and Vedic themes.

He headlined 50 Solo Exhibitions in India and abroad throughout his career and was the subject of a documentary in Doordarshan Kendra by the Information Centre, Government of West Bengal. His works are currently part of several private and public collections across India.

The artist passed away on April 8, 2002.