I was born on July 23,1895, at Sridharkhola, a tiny village in the district of Dacca, East Bengal. This was my maternal home. My grandfather, Mahim Chandra Dey, was a leading Pleader of his time at Dhubri, Mymensingh, which is close to Dacca. My father, Kula Chandra Dey, was a poet and was in the service of the Government of Bengal. My mother, who is alive, is of a pious disposition and of the old school. Though she was never trained to it, she used to draw beautiful illustrations of mythological Mahabharata subjects and Ramayana subjects on articles for domestic use. She is an expert on Alpana (ritualistic) designs and can make moulds for sweets with various decorations.

I am the eldest of four brothers. I remember, in 1900, I began my school lessons at the Hamilton High School at Tamluk in Midnapore district. From childhood I was interested in drawing. My private tutor was the drawing master of that school from whom I learnt a little drawing. My father being a Government Officer had constantly to move from place to place. So naturally I had to change my schools from time to time and thus my studies were often interrupted. My father's poetic turn of mind brought him in touch with Rabindra Nath Tagore; they were mutually attracted by their common interest and their acquaintance grew into friendship.

In 1900, Rabindra Nath Tagore founded an institution for the education both secular and religious of boys at Santiniketan, Bolpur. My father decided to send me to this school.

In 1907, when I was eleven years old, I came to Calcutta from Ghatal, and was taken by my father to Rabindra Nath Tagore at his house at Jorasanko. At sight he told my father that he wanted boys like me for his School, and suggested that I should be sent to Bolpur immediately. The Poet's nephew, Abanindra Nath Tagore (now Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore), the renowned artist and founder of the Modern Bengal School of Art, lived in an adjoining building. During the holidays I had to pass through Calcutta on my way to my home, and thus had some opportunities of meeting Abanindra Nath Tagore who advised me to send my drawings to him now and then for his criticisms as there was then no drawing class at Santiniketan School.

When I visited Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore at his Jorasanko house I used to meet his elder brother, Gagonendra Nath Tagore, who showed great interest in my work. Both brothers would criticise and correct my sketches and remark on them as good, fair or bad. As there was no art teacher at Santiniketan I sent my sketches, drawings and paintings etc. to Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore by post. I drew what I saw and as I saw such things as Santhal huts, cows, calves, men walking on the red gravelled road to the market-place, creepers, flowers and many other objects which captivated my youthful imagination. The sketches were in pen and ink, and pencil. Sometimes I painted in colour.

Theatrical performances used to be organised by the boys at Santiniketan and on these occasions I would be asked to paint scenes and curtains for the stage. At the literary meetings of the school I won many prizes for drawings and paintings. Monthly magazines in manuscript used to be brought out by the students. I did the cover designs for them and my original sketches and paintings also found a place in them. While at Santiniketan, I heard that Mrs. Herringham of London with the help of some of the pupils of Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore was making copies of a series of Ajanta Fresco paintings. Newspaper accounts of the Ajanta Caves and the work going on there awakened my curiosity to see these cave paintings for myself some day.

From 1911 my paintings began to find place in the monthly magazines published in Calcutta such as Prabasi, Modern Review, Bharatvarsa and Bharati. My painting "The Blind Beggar" first appeared in Prabasi and created an interest in my work among the artists and art critics of that time.

In 1912 I left Santiniketan, and my father reluctantly agreed to let me study art under Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore at his Jorasanko house, where I lived as a member of his family.
Soon after this, I began to exhibit my paintings at the yearly exhibitions of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta. They were much appreciated, as was shown by the ready sales my work commanded and I gradually established my reputation.

In 1913-14 the Indian Society of Oriental Art sent my paintings to Paris, London and other cities of Europe for exhibition along with the work of other students of Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore. I stayed with Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore for four years except for the intervals covered by my travels during the vacation.

With the money from the sale of my work I began to wander about from place to place, seeing monuments of ancient art and visiting places of natural beauty and artistic interest. I visited Puri, Konarak, Darjeeling, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Agra, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ramgarh, Benares, Gaya, Sanchi and Jubbulpore.

It was about this time that I met Mr. W. W. Pearson who was a man with an infinite capacity for loving his fellows. A great friend of Sir Muirhead Bone, he was deeply interested in all artistic work, etchings in particular. From the first, he took a keen interest in my pictures and often came to my studio and encouraged me both by words and by buying me art materials. Mr. Pearson first put into my head the idea of dry points after seeing my black and white drawings. He gave me some copper plates to scratch with a steel pointed needle and used to send those plates to London to be printed as it was not possible to print them in India. Willie Pearson often spoke of sending me to England to meet his friend Bone who, he said, would gladly teach me etching. But the beginning of the Great War made it impossible for me to go to Europe then.

Towards the beginning of 1916, however, Pearson arranged for me to accompany Poet Tagore on his tour to Japan. There I came into touch with Yokoyama Taikan, Shimomura Kanzan and Tomitaro Hara who were friends of Gagonendra Nath Tagore and Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore. At this time a revival of painting was going on in Japan and as an Indian artist I was privileged to see with my own eyes the new Japanese art revival. I had also the good fortune to see the brilliant art collection of T. Hara the well-known connoisseur of Yokohama. Mr. Hara was a great patron of Mr. Taikan and Mr. Shimomura Kanzan. He was pleased with my work and was anxious to give me a scholarship for five years but Rabindra Nath was not in favour of my accepting it.

At Tokyo I arranged an exhibition of paintings by Dr. Abanindra Nath Tagore, his pupils, and of my own drawings and paintings. The exhibition was held at Okakura Kakuzo's Art School at Tokyo named Nippon Bijitsuin (Nihon Bijitsuin). It was a success and was favourably noticed in newspapers. After my visit to Japan I sailed for America with the Poet and toured throughout the United States of America. On September 19,1916, we reached Seattle in Washington. Immediately on my arrival here some of my drawings were published in the Seattle Post Intelligence on September 19,1916. Mr. Roi Partridge, a renowned etcher in California, called on me. On looking at these drawings he at once took me into his studio, where I practised drawing from life models.

After visiting several other cities we came to San Francisco, where I again organised an Exhibition of our Modern Bengal School of Paintings, at the Paul Elder's Gallery in October 1916. This also attracted much attention. It was the first occasion when our Modern Bengal School of Paintings was brought to the notice of America. I was in sole charge of this Exhibition and remained at the Exhibition Hall the whole day explaining the subject of these paintings nd the history of the development of the Modern Bengal School of Art to the visitors. At San Francisco we stayed at the same hotel as Mr. and Mrs. Paderewski. They invited us to their piano recitals where I made several sketches of Paderewski at the Piano.

In 1916 there was an exhibition of Goya's work at Riverside Inn in California where we stayed for a few days. There, for the first time, I saw many beautiful and marvellous oil paintings of this great Spanish artist, which impressed me very much.

We then went on to Chicago and stayed with Mrs. William Vaughan Moody. There I met Mrs. Bertha E. Jaques to whom I had an introduction from Mr. Roi Patridge. Mrs. Jaques took a sympathetic interest in my work and in her turn introduced me to Mr. J. Blanding Sloan under whom I had a course of training in etching. Mrs. Jaques first taught me the art of printing from copper plates in her own studio. At Chicago I saw an Exhibition at the Art Institute of etchings by J. F. Millet. These, which showed complete mastery over the subject, were a revelation to me, and I was inspired to develop my powers in this direction.

Here at Chicago for the first time I sold some of my etchings, which were purchased by Albert Roullier's Gallery.

During my stay in America I visited many museums and art galleries and studied the art of etching, paying all the expense of my travelling and costs of purchase of materials from the sale of my work.

I was the first Indian artist to be elected a member of the Chicago Society of Etchers.

Next I went to New York where Mr. Carl Zigrosser kindly showed me etchings at the Keppel Galleries and gave me much useful advice. He also presented me with several original etchings and books on prints and etchings.

In New York I illustrated Mr. W.W. Pearson's book "Santiniketan" which contained a description of the school founded by Rabindra Nath Tagore. This book was published by McMillian & Company of New York.

In 1917 I returned to India. With the experience I had gained in Japan and America, I turned my attention to portrait drawing, and started etching the daily scenes of life in Calcutta. I had also brought out an etching press and printed my own work.

My work got a sudden setback when, in July 1917, my father died at Calcutta. However, I recovered the shock sufficiently to bring out in December 1917, a book containing portraits of twelve eminent men of Bengal who had established their mark in the fields of Literature, Art, Science, Politics and Law.

At this time I was at the Vichitra Art School at Jorasanko. I was asked to go to Santiniketan again to teach drawing to the young students there, but preferred to stay in Calcutta. But I could not sit still teaching art for long. My old craving for wandering got hold of me, and I resigned my work and set out on a tour all over India. In 1918, I realised a long cherished dream by visiting the Ajanta Caves. I at once made up my mind to copy the frescos but as I had no money. I had to travel to various cities of southwestern India drawing portraits of rich men and selling my work for a few rupees only. I had a great desire to accumulate some money quickly so that I might go back to Ajanta and achieve my burning desire to copy the frescos. In my travels I visited the following places during 1918-19 - Bombay, Ajanta, Ellora, Nasik, Poona, Goa, Bangalore, Mysore, Nagapattam, Madras and Pondicherry.

Some of my portrait drawings were published by the Bombay Chronicle and Times of India Illustrated Weekly. These brought some revenue to my gradually increasing fund.

Before I went on my pilgrimage to Ajanta and Bagh, I organised an exhibition at Nagpur in 1918, showing the different schools of Indian paintings from early times up to the modern age. Thus I collected about Rs. 3, 000/-. With drawing materials and other equipment I started for the Ajanta and Bagh caves in the beginning of 1919.

During my stay at Ajanta I had to walk ten miles almost every day from the Fardapur village Dak Bungalow and back; this journey was so exhausting that I soon moved into one of the Caves and lived in it for the rest of my stay at Ajanta.

I took about nine months to finish my copying work at Ajanta from where I moved on to the Bagh Caves at Gwalior. My experiences at Ajanta and Bagh have been fully described in my book - "My Pilgrimages to Ajanta and Bagh" (Thornton Butterworth Ltd., London, 1925).

In January 1920, I left the Bagh caves and went to Bombay. The frescos I copied were bought by Mr. Kallianjee Curumsey Damjee of Bombay and this provided me with enough money to start immediately for England. At Victoria Station, London, I found my old friend, Mr. Pearson, who had come from the Isle of Wight to receive me. In London, Willie Pearson introduced me to Dr. Henry Lamb and Prof. Henry Tonks. When I arrived in London all schools and colleges were closed for the vacation. So Pearson took me to Petersfield in Hampshire to meet Mr. (now Sir) Muirhead Bone, a great etcher who had just then returned home to settle down to work. He was kind enough to let me work in his studio at Byways Steep until I could join the Slade School of Art in London. I took rooms at Steep from where I went to the studio daily, remaining till far in the evening. As my first effort at engraving I made dry-point portraits of Muirhead Bone and his wife, Gertrude Bone, on copper plates presented to me by the etcher. Here I met Thomas Sturge-Moore the poet who was also an artist. He was staying at Steep to look after the education of his children at Bedales School. During my work at the studio I recounted to Muirhead Bone and Sturge-Moore my adventure in the Ajanta and Bagh caves and they showed much interest in my travels.

When the Slade School of Art reopened I went to London and joined it. I began my work under Prof. Henry Tonks and Prof. W. W. Russell. After a short stay at the Slade I joined the Royal College of Art at South Kensington, with a scholarship. Although I took up the School of Painting for my subject, I continued to learn etching under Sir Frank Short.

During holidays I worked as a teacher for a few months in the King Alfred Co-education School at Hampstead. My teaching met with the approval of Mr. Joseph Wicksteed, the Head Master, and the members of the Committee. Mr. Joseph Wicksteed wrote of me: "I have known Mr. Mukul Dey for several years and for a time when he was living in my house or in a neighbouring one, we were constantly together. He was also kind enough to teach Art in my school for a short time. Unfortunately, this last was not long, but two features of his work seemed to me very characteristic. He was quick to detect merit where a less gifted and sympathetic teacher would have missed it. And on the other hand where merit was obvious he knew how to find and point out weakness and so induce still better work. In both the ways he proved stimulating to children of very varied ages and capacity, while his own enthusiasm was contagious to us all. His manner with the pupils was that of a fellow student guiding and inspiring rather than instructing".

While at the Royal College of Art I showed my paintings and sketches at the New English Art Club, London, and at Grosvenor Galleries, Bond Street. I also gave a lecture on Indian Arts and Crafts at the Art Workers Guild in London. I won first prizes in tempera painting and dry point engraving at the Royal College. In 1922 I was the first Indian to receive the Diploma in Mural Painting at the Royal College of Art. Leaving the Royal College of Art I lived in London practising my art.

In London Mr. Sturge-Moore introduced me to Mr. Charles Shannon, Mr. Charles Ricketts, Prof. Selwyn Image, Canon Wilson, and his daughter Miss Mona Wilson, Canon Lacey and Mr. C. P. Sanger. Miss Mona Wilson took me to E. M. Forster, a novelist who knows India very well. Mr. Sturge-Moore often visited me in London and we discussed art. These discussions helped me much in my work and gave me inspiration. I learnt many things from Mr. Sturge-Moore about composing a picture, especially figure compositions.

I was constantly in touch with so many friends in London that I never felt lonely or home sick. Mr. Laurence Binyon, Mr. and Mrs. E. A. C. Druce, Miss Elsie M. C. Druce, Mr. And Mrs. Enid Erskine, Sir George Clausen, Mr. R. B. Cunninghame-Graham, Sir Herbert Baker, Sir Edwin Luttyns, Lord Carmichael, Mr. Charles Aitken, Mr. Jacob Epstein, Mr. Joseph Wicksteed, Mr. Lionel G. Pearson, Mr. Henry Clifford Maggs, Mr. And Mrs. Louis F. Fergusson, Col. W. G. Pridmore, Lady Violet Mond, Lady Erleigh, Sir Alfred and Lady Hamilton Grant, Mr. Pussyfoot Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Staite Murray, Sir Murray and Lady Hammick, Sir Thomas Arnold, and Mr. and Mrs. G. P. Gooch, Mr. C. W. Whall, Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Smith, Miss Pott, Miss Gwendolen Otter and many others invited me to their respective houses and I spent a very pleasant and instructive time with them. I shall never forget the kindness I received from my English friends.

I learnt more than I did in art schools by visiting the studios of the artists. I often went to the studios of such artists as Sir George Clausen, Charles Shannon, Charles Ricketts, Henry Rushbury, Prof. Tonks, Miss Ethel Walker, W. Staite Murray, Jacob Epstein, Selwyn Image, Sir William Rothenstein and Henry Lamb. I saw them at their work and learnt many useful things from them. I would now and then take my works to them and they frankly criticised them.

Both in 1922 and in 1923 the Royal Academy, London, accepted my paintings for exhibition. The following notice is reprinted from:

Soon after the close of my exhibition I received a Royal Command to send my pictures and engravings to Buckingham Palace. Their Majesties were graciously pleased to express their appreciation of them.

By the end of December 1927 I returned to India after years of absence. My experiences in England had proved invaluable to me. My views were broadened and I gained skill. My experience taught me that we have much to gain from our contact with the English in the world of Art.

Soon after my return to Calcutta I arranged an exhibition of my etchings and drawings at the Indian Society of Oriental Art in February 1928.

At this time an Advisory Committee was formed to select artists for decorating the Secretariat buildings at New Delhi. I was selected a member of this Committee.
In 1928 the post of the Principal, Government School of Art, Calcutta fell vacant and I was selected for it on July 11,1928.

After taking over charge of the Government School of Art as Principal, I organised an exhibition of drawings, paintings, sculptures, engravings etc. done by the students and the staff of this school it was opened by Lady Jackson, amidst a distinguished gathering. Since then, the Government School of Art has an annual exhibition.

In 1928 an exhibition of the pictures of Mr. Stowitts a noted American artist was organised by me and held at the Arts Section of the Indian Museum.

In 1929 I gave two lectures in the Indian Museum on "Indian Art and Civilisation".
I became a member of the Board for selecting artists for making mural decoration at the India House, Aldwych, London, in 1929.

In 1931, an art magazine for the Government School of Art, Calcutta was started by me.
In the same year, I organized an exhibition of modern Japanese drawings and paintings by Mr. Tomimaro Higuchi, Art Instructor of "Hakuyasha" Art School of Osaka.

In 1932 I organised an exhibition of drawings, paintings, engravings, pottery and leatherwork by Rabindra Nath Tagore.

In 1934, I helped in selecting and collecting etchings and paintings from Bengal for the special exhibition of Indian art at the Burlington House organised by the India Society of London.

I lectured at a weekly meeting of the Calcutta Rotary Club on the subject of Indian Art. The address was published in The Statesman of January 23, 1935, and is reproduced here.

MUKUL DEY
28, Chowringhee Road,
Calcutta
April 20, 1938.

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