Manohar Kaul

Manohar Kaul (1925–1999) was a distinguished Indian painter and art historian known for his evocative Himalayan landscapes and writings on Indian aesthetics. Born in Srinagar, Kashmir, he played a prominent role in post-independence Indian art. His paintings are held in major collections including the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Lalit Kala Akademi.

Manohar Kaul was born in 1925 in Srinagar, Kashmir. His early years in the valley left a lasting impression on his artistic sensibility, with many later describing landscapes “recollected in tranquility and reproduced from imagination. He received formal art education at Sir Amar Singh Technical Institute in Srinagar and later cleared the City & Guilds Institute examination in painting with first-class honors—a distinction few Indian painters had achieved in his generation..^[1]

The tribal invasion of Kashmir in 1947–48 forced Kaul to leave his homeland and rebuild his life in Delhi. Though he came from a well-to-do family and held a Master's degree in Economics, the upheaval left him with little. A passionate painter since childhood, he took up small jobs and quietly offered his early watercolours for sale—often on the roadside or wherever he could find a willing viewer. This period of hardship shaped his resilience and reaffirmed his lifelong commitment to art.^[2]

Manohar Kaul’s watercolours are distinguished by their meditative stillness and deep spiritual undertones, grounded in Kashmir’s natural beauty and cultural memory. His colour palette—which he believed had emotional and healing qualities—is particularly evident in series like Mystique of the Moon and Auras of the Dawn. He painted in solitude, often during the early morning, regarding his work as a personal meditation. Contemporary critic Ratnottama Sen Gupta noted that his art “brings alive dead pretty Kashmir,” highlighting how he captured the landscape’s soulful presence rather than its political turmoil.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

In addition to his work as a painter, Manohar Kaul held several editorial and institutional positions that contributed to the post-independence art landscape in India. He served as Assistant Editor of Roopa-Lekha, the prestigious journal published by the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS), a role he held until 1990. He also edited Art News, another AIFACS publication.

Kaul went on to become the founder-editor of Kala Darshan, a magazine independently produced to promote Indian arts and culture. In 1993, he was invited to serve as Guest Editor for LKA Contemporary, published by the Lalit Kala Akademi, where he curated a special issue on “The Bengal School: Its Impact on Contemporary Artistic Concerns.”

He was also a regular contributor to Indian newspapers and journals from the 1950s onward, offering critical insight on Indian and international art with a distinctly rooted and reflective voice.^[1][2]

Manohar Kaul exhibited widely over the course of his career, with his work featured in both solo and group exhibitions in India and abroad. A major retrospective was held in 1983, showcasing over three decades of his paintings, and was noted for capturing the evolving spiritual and aesthetic themes in his work. In later years, he exhibited a series of watercolours informed by his exploration of color therapy, which reflected his belief in the emotional and curative power of color.

His paintings are held in several important public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi), Lalit Kala Akademi, and the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS).

Kaul’s contributions to Indian art were recognized with a number of honors. He received the Jammu and Kashmir Cultural Akademi Award in 1965, and the title of Kala Vibhushan from AIFACS in 1988. He was also invited as a visiting lecturer at institutions such as Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan and the College of Art, Delhi, where he shared his deep understanding of Indian aesthetics and art.^{[1][2][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

• ''Trends in Indian Painting: Ancient, Medieval, Modern'' (1961), published by Dhoomimal Ramchand. With a foreword by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. ^[13][14]
• ''Kashmir: Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim Architecture'' (1971), published by Sagar Publications. With a foreword by Dr. Karan Singh.^[15][16]

Manohar Kaul viewed painting as a deeply personal and meditative practice, rather than a pursuit driven by market or visibility. He was known to paint during amritvela—the quiet predawn hours—which he considered most fertile for creative energy. Kaul’s work often avoided direct depictions of conflict or turmoil, instead offering a serene, spiritual response rooted in the beauty of Kashmir. “I want to show everyone how beautiful Kashmir was,” he once said. “Only then will they get the strength to change it.”

Later in life, Kaul developed a strong interest in color therapy, exploring the emotional and healing impact of specific hues. This intuitive engagement with color, informed by his interest in astrology, often found quiet expression in his later watercolours. He believed that certain colors held vibrational energies aligned with cosmic rhythms and human consciousness. Though he seldom discussed these influences publicly, they shaped his reflections on harmony, emotion, and balance.

Kaul consciously avoided self-promotion, preferring solitude and sincerity in both life and art. He generously mentored younger artists and remained committed to a vision of art as a form of cultural memory and inner discipline. His legacy endures not only through his paintings and writings, but also through the institutions he shaped and the values he upheld in India's post-independence art landscape.^[2]

• Essay on Kaul by the art critic Keshav Malik - includes newspaper reviews
• Official website of Manohar Kaul – includes biography, artworks, and archival material