Laxmi Prasad Sihare
Born 7 November 1929 · verify
Organized the first major Auguste Rodin exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art.
🔔 Add birthday reminderLaxmi Prasad Sihare was an Indian civil service officer, curator, art writer and the director-general of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). It was during his directorship, an art exhibition on Auguste Rodin was organized by the museum.
✨ A detail that surprised us
In 1979, Laxmi Prasad Sihare legally prevented the auction of the Jacob Diamond, the world's fifth-largest uncut diamond, stopping its sale to foreign buyers decades before his NGMA directorship.
1. In 1971, Laxmi Prasad Sihare took charge as director-general of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), steering one of India's premier art institutions through a critical phase of cultural preservation.
2. 🎨 In 1984, Sihare organized a landmark exhibition on Auguste Rodin at NGMA, bringing the French sculptor's works into the Indian public eye for the first time, a move that challenged traditional museum curation norms.
3. 💎 In 1979, long before his NGMA tenure, Sihare secured a court order halting the public auction of the Nizam of Hyderabad's jewels, including the colossal Jacob Diamond, preventing their sale to foreign bidders and preserving a key piece of India's heritage.
4. 📚 Between 1980 and 1990, he authored influential monographs such as 'Oriental Influences on Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian' and 'Paul Klee: Sixty Oil Paintings, Watercolours, Pastels and Drawings (1909-1939)', blending art history with cross-cultural analysis.
5. In 1987, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan, recognizing his unique blend of civil service acumen and art scholarship during a decade of cultural transformation.
6. After retiring in 1991, Sihare's sudden death in 1993 cut short further contributions to art preservation at a time when India was opening up to global art narratives.
7. ❓ How did Sihare’s combined roles as a civil servant and art curator reshape policies around cultural heritage and influence museum practices in post-independence India?
Awards & Honours
- 🏅Padma Shri
🔍 One thing most people don't know
In 1979, Sihare obtained a court injunction that stopped the sale of the Nizam of Hyderabad's jewels, including the Jacob Diamond, protecting them from overseas buyers during a time when auctioning royal assets abroad was common.
🖼️ Through the Years
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📅 The Journey
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📖 Curated Sources
🌱 What changed because of them
Laxmi Prasad Sihare's intervention to halt the sale of the Nizam's jewels preserved a priceless cultural asset within India, influencing future heritage protection laws. His leadership at NGMA introduced international art dialogues through exhibitions like the Rodin showcase, setting new standards for Indian museum curation. His scholarly works bridged Eastern and Western art histories, enriching academic discourse and inspiring subsequent art historians and curators.
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