Sawlaram Lakshman Haldankar also know as S L Haldankar was a well-known Indian painter. Haldankar was born into a family from Sawantwadi, which was then a Princely State and is located today in Maharashtra state. He showed early talent in the arts and this was noticed by the headmaster of his school in Sawantwadi. He received a scholarship to study at the Sir J.J. School of Art, Bombay.
Sawlaram Lakshman Haldankar
Haldankar studied under the famous artists Mahadev Vishwanath Dhurandhar and Cecil Leonard Burns. He was accomplished in both watercolors and oils, with a special mastery over portraits. In 1908, he founded the Haldankar Fine Arts' Institute in Bombay. Later, with some friends, he founded the Art Society of India in 1918 and became its first president. Many painters were trained by Haldankar, both at J.J. School of Art and at Haldankar Fine Arts' Institute.
Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai
Haldankar's works have been exhibited in Mumbai, Madras, Simla and the Royal Society of British Artists, London. After independence, S.L. Haldankar was felicitated by the President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. An Italian encyclopedia ranks Haldankar as one of the three finest watercolorists in the world.
His works can be found in several prominent museums, including Prince of Wales Museum (Mumbai), National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi), Nagpur Museum, Moscow Academy of Art. His most famous painting is Glow of Hope, also known as Woman With the Lamp, which is currently exhibited at Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore. The young girl in that painting is none other than his own daughter Gita Haldankar. Haldankar made another painting with his second daughter Lilavati known as the Divine Flame also under the same concept of Glow of Hope.
Glow of Hope by S. L. Haldankar
These paintings were made in the same series of deriving glow from a central source like a lamp that throws dramatic shadows in the background and lights the face is a beautiful light.
Divine Flame by S. L. Haldankar