Ernest Binfield Havel
Encyclopedia
Ernest Binfield Havell who published under the name E.B. Havell, was an influential English arts administrator, art historian and author of numerous books about Indian art
Indian art
Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...

 and architecture
Indian architecture
The architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Indian architecture progressed with time and assimilated the many influences that came as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past...

. He was a member of the Havell family
Havell family
The Havell family of Reading, Berkshire, England included a number of notable engravers, etchers and painters, as well as writers, publishers, educators, and musicians. In particular, members of this family were foremost practitioners of aquatint; and had a long association with Indian art and...

 of artists and art educators. He was the principal of the Government School of Art, Calcutta
Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata
The Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classes, industrial art based on scientific methods." as the School of...

 from 1896 to 1905, where, along with Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore was the principal artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art. He was also a noted writer, particularly for children...

, he developed a style of art and art education based on Indian rather than Western models, which led to the foundation of the Bengal school of art
Bengal school of art
The Bengal School of Art was a style of art that flourished in India during the British Raj in the early 20th century. It was associated with Indian nationalism, but was also promoted and supported by British arts administrators.-History:...

.

Career

In India, Havell initially served the Madras School of Art
Madras School
The Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai is the oldest art institution in India. The institution was established in 1850 by surgeon Alexander Hunter as a private art school. In 1852, after being taken over by the government, it was renamed as the Government School of Industrial Arts...

 as Superintendent for a decade from 1884. He arrived Calcutta on July 5, 1896 and joined as Superintendent of the Government School of Art, Calcutta
Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata
The Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classes, industrial art based on scientific methods." as the School of...

 next day. In between, he went to England for a year from April, 1902 to March, 1903. While in England, he published two valuable articles on Indian art in the October 1902 and January, 1903 issues of a well known art journal of London, The Studio. In January, 1906 he left for England on long leave and finally in 1908, he was removed from the post.

Havell worked with Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore was the principal artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art. He was also a noted writer, particularly for children...

 to redefine Indian art education. He established the Bengal school of art
Bengal school of art
The Bengal School of Art was a style of art that flourished in India during the British Raj in the early 20th century. It was associated with Indian nationalism, but was also promoted and supported by British arts administrators.-History:...

, which sought to adapt British art education in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 so as to reject the previous emphasis placed on European traditions in favour of revivals of native Indian styles of art, in particular the Mughal
Mughal painting
Mughal painting is a particular style of South Asian painting, generally confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums, which emerged from Persian miniature painting, with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences, and developed largely in the court...

 miniature tradition.

Personal life

He married Angelique Wilhelmina Jacobsen in 1895 at St Giles, London
St Giles, London
St Giles is a district of London, England. It is the location of the church of St Giles in the Fields, the Phoenix Garden and St Giles Circus. It is located at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden and is part of the Midtown business improvement district.The combined parishes of St...

, Middlesex, England. The couple had a daughter, Sonia Joyce Havell in 1902.

External links

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