Description

Gajanan Haldankar(1912- 1981) was the son of eminent painter S. L. Haldankar. He became accomplished in painting landscapes and portraits in spite of having no formal training in art.

Influenced by the lives of Swami Vivekananda and Jesus Christ, he had an ascetic demeanour. He was keen on experimentation and made commissioned portraits of Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw and Mahatma Gandhi.

Haldankar taught at the fine art institute his father founded in Mumbai (Haldankar's Fine Art Institute). His work was exhibited several times at the Bombay Art Society during his lifetime, and he won awards such as the President's Prize from the Society in 1929, the 1931 Silver Medal at the Mysore Dasara Exhibition Mysore, and a Gold Medal from the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata in 1939. He was nominated as member of the Judging Committees for various art exhibitions. He was the examiner for Govt. Diploma of Art Exams and was associated with Art Society of India as Secretary and Chairman.