Description :

Somalal Shah (14 February 1905–1994) was an Indian painter and art teacher. He was born in in Kapadvanj, Gujarat. He joined Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay in 1926 but left for Ahmedabad after a year. He studied under Pramod Chattopadyaya from 1926 to 1928. He further studied at Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta established by Abanindranath Tagore where he studied under Kshitindranath Majumdar.

His painting style was deeply influenced by the Indian miniature painting tradition and the Bengal revivalist movement. He painted in wash technique which later became his signature style. He lived in Saurashtra region of Gujarat for almost three decades where his works often depicted the culture and people of the region. He also illustrated a book on the birds of Kutch and Saurashtra.

He was awarded the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1949. In 1990, he received the Ravishankar Raval State Award for Arts by the Government of Gujarat. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation gave him a civic reception in 1988 and he got an award from the Gujarat Lalit Kala Akademi.