Sayed Haider Raza

Sayed Haider Raza was one of India’s greatest icons of modern and contemporary art. A founder of the enormously influential Progressive Artists group, he combined western abstraction with Indian visual traditions and helped to create a uniquely Indian style of contemporary art.

He was a renowned Indian artist. He was awarded the Padma Shri and Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Academy in 1981, Padma Bhushan in 2007, and Padma Vibhushan in 2013. He was conferred with the Commandeur de la Legion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) on July 14, 2015.

His seminal work, Saurashtra sold for ₹16.42 crore ($3,486,965) at a Christie's auction in 2010. In 1959 he married the French artist Janine Mongillat, who died in 2002, in 2010 he decided to return to India.