CHANDIGARH,27.08.20-Mehar Singh served as President of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi for two terms and also as Vice Chairman, Punjab Arts Council.

He had his house in Chandigarh, where he shifted in late 1980s as well as in Delhi where he studied and worked after partition of the country. Due to deteriorating health his sons took him to Delhi in December 2019.

Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi and Punjab Kala Parishad have expressed condolences at the loss of this fine artist. Akademi has received condolence message from cross sections of society expressing grief at the demise of Sr. Mehar Singh, who was loved and respected by all.

Sr. Mehar Singh’s own portraits and portraits of other personalities made by him are attached with this email.

Obituary:

Sardar Mehar Singh, well known artist of portraiture and Sikh history and former President of Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, breathed his last at 10.15 am on 26^th August 2020 at his house in Delhi at the age of 91.

Born to Sardar Saudagar Singh and Sardarni Mahinder Kaur in Lahore on 1^st October 1929 into a house of craftsmen having wood workshop, Mehar Singh studied at DAV College, Lahore and then for some time at Mayo School of Art, Lahore where two of his uncles were teachers, one taya and another Chacha called Pritam Singh, elder and youngers brothers of his father. At the same time he took apprenticeship under Sardar Sobha Singh, who asked him to choose between formal education and full time apprenticeship. His father, who was not opposed to his learning art, did not want him to leave regular education in college. To please both his father and his Guru, he enrolled himself for evening studies while continuing his full time apprenticeship under Sobha Singh.