Art Critic & Writer
Bartholomew was a pioneering art critic in that he was one of the first who initiated a serious dialogue with the painters of the time. He fostered a sense of community within the artists and communicated their ideals to the public who were not entirely receptive or convinced of the daring, artistic exploration of India’s Progressive Art Movement. Bartholomew’s sophisticated body of work during the formative years of modern Indian art offers contemporary readers a rare, intimate glimpse into the beginnings of Modernism in India.
Through numerous reviews published from the early 50s till the late 70s in publications like The Indian Express, The Times of India and Thought, Bartholomew documented the artistic trajectories of now legendary painters such as Francis Newton Souza, Tyeb Mehta, Biren De, Ram Kumar, Akbar Padamsee, SH Raza, Krishen Khanna, Sailoz Mookherjea, Bhupen Khakkar, Satish Gujral; sculptors like Ramkinkar Baij, Dhanraj Bhagat, Chintamoni Kar, Somnath Hore, Sankho Chaudhuri; graphic artists including Kanwal Krishna, Devayani Krishna, Krishna Reddy, Jagmohan Chopra, Jyoti Bhatt as well as renowned photographers Raghu Rai and TS Satyan.
Besides a series of significant articles on Indian and Tibetan art, Bartholomew also co-authored, Husain, a monograph on M.F. Husain which was published by Harry Abrams, New York in 1972. In 1974, he published a monograph on Krishna Reddy. He also wrote poems and short stories which were published in prestigious magazines like Thought and Illustrated Weekly.
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