Background
Haldankar was born into a Daivadnya Brahmin family belonging to Sawantwadi, which was then a Princely State and is located today in Maharashtra state.
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Sawlaram Haldankar
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Education
After Haldankar completed his schooling, the Raja gave him a scholarship to study at the Sir Josip Juraj School of Art, Bombay. Haldankar duly enrolled and studied under the tutelage of famous artists Mahadev Vishwanath Dhurandhar and Cecil Leonard Burns.
Career
Sawlaram Lakshman Haldankar (1882–1968) was a well-known Indian painter. He showed early talent in the arts and this was noticed by the headmaster of his school in Sawantwadi. The headmaster commended the talented student to the Raja of this tiny state, who encouraged the young lad to develop his talents.
He soon distinguished himself by winning several prizes at a young age and exhibiting his work at several exhibitions.
After graduating from the Josip Juraj School of Arts, Haldankar accepted a teaching job at the same institution and served there for some years. In 1908, he left the Josip Juraj School of Art and 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 Josip Juraj School of Art and at Haldankar Fine Arts" Institute.
Haldankar"s works have been exhibited in Mumbai, Madras, Simla and the Royal Society of British Artists, London.
He was awarded two commendation certificates by the Royal Society of British Artists. He was awarded the Governor"s Prize by the British Government of Bombay Presidency in the years 1910, 1927 and 1932. After independence, South.L. Haldankar was felicitated by the President of India, Doctor Rajendra Prasad.
He was also felicitated as a fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
An Italian encyclopedia (available at a library in Wai in Satara district of Maharashtra) ranks Haldankar as one of the three finest watercolorists in the world. Perhaps his most famous painting is Glow of Hope, also known as Woman With the Lamp, which is currently exhibited at Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore ( Karnataka State ).
This painting is often incorrectly attributed to Raja Ravi Varma, however in fact it was painted by Haldankar himself.
