Ganga Devi (painter)

Ganga Devi (1928 – 21 January 1991)^[1] was an Indian painter,^[2] considered by many as one of the leading exponents of Madhubani painting tradition.^[3] She is credited with popularizing the Madhubani painting outside India.^[4] She was born in 1928 in Mithila in the Indian state of Bihar in a Kayastha family and took to the traditional painting craft, specialising in the kachni (line drawing) style.^[5] She traveled abroad with her art and was a part of the Festival of India in the United States,^[4] which yielded a number of paintings under the title, America series, including Moscow Hotel, Festival of American Folk Life, and Ride in a Roller Coaster.^[3] The Government of India awarded her the National Master Craftsman Award^[4] and followed it up with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1984.^[6]

In the 1980s, Ganga Devi painted the famous mural Kohbar Ghar or bridal nuptial chamber at the Crafts Museum in Delhi. The Mural was painted over a period of three to four months while Ganga Devi was undergoing chemotherapy in a Delhi Hospital.^[7] The Mural was demolished as part of a renovation plan at the Museum in early 2015.^[8]