Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation

About us

Prafulla Dahanukar was a well-renowned eminent artist of India. She was an informal member of the Bombay Progressive Artists Group, though she could not become a formal member of the man’s group. Her studio in Bhulabhai Institute in Breach Candy was next to the studio of M.F. Husain. V.S. Gaitonde painted in her studio in the morning and would go for a movie in the afternoon when Prafulla painted. Gaitonde greatly influenced Prafulla’s work.

Prafulla was a gold-medal winning graduate of the Sir J J. School of Art and had her first solo show in 1956. One of the paintings from her show is printed in the PDAF show Catalogue is from the theme Raga-Ragini. You can see the influence of Gaitonde in this work. Although she periodically painted portraits and still-life, the main theme of paintings in later years was abstracted landscapes which she called ‘Mindscapes’ in the 1990s and ‘Eternal Space’ in the 2000s. From semi-realistic scapes in the 1980s, she progressively turned towards abstract. She created an abstract form of Mahalaxmi. She was a master of colors and painted these Mahalaxmi Mantra abstract paintings in a wide range of colors.

Prafulla was on the panel for approving the artist for displaying his/her work at the Jehangir Art Gallery for 45 years! She saw more than 6000 works of art sent to the Jehangir Art Gallery every year from all parts of India. She was completely familiar with the new painters and their work. She went out of her way to help younger artists and many renowned artists of today from the South, North and East owe their initial push in Mumbai to her selfless and devoted efforts.

The Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation (PDAF) has been formed to continue her good work of helping young artists. The Foundation finds its benefactors in most of the top artists of India. It is a Foundation borne out artists for the artists. The PDAF is a dynamic organization working to perpetuate her memory.