Sardar Sobha Singh was the greatest Indian artist. He was born on 29 November 1901 in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab. He was born into a Sikh family. His father Deva Singh had been in the Indian cavalry. His father died in 1917. In 1905 his mother Bibi Acchran passed away.
Sardar Sobha Singh Early Life
When he was 15 years old he used to go the industrial school at Amritsar for one year course in art and craft. And he served service in Indian Army as a draughtsman in Baghdad Mesopotamia. In 1923 he left the Indian army for making an independent career in drawing and painting. He opens his own art studio in Amritsar. He opened his art studio in Delhi, Lahore, and Mumbai. But during the separation from India, they had to leave Lahore. and settled in Andreta(Palampur) Himachal Pradesh. In 1923 he marry with Bibi Inder Kaur on the day of crutches. They also opened an art studio in Andreta. This studio is also open to the public. He converted Andretta into a popular tourist destination. A large number of tourists and artists visit the Gallery daily.
Painting
At the age of 39, he made more than 100 paintings in Andreta. He made the painting based on the life of Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Govind Singh, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Amar Das revolutionary Bhagat Singh, and Kartar Singh Sarabha. He also made paintings of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
He also made heer ranjha, Soni Mahiwal, and Gaddi Tribe people painting. Some books on the artist are also available in Andretta’s art gallery like Painter of Divine, Art of Sobha Singh, Soul and Principles, Sobha Singh Artist, Kala Waheguru Di, and Sobha Singh Kala Deergha are also available.
Awards
In 1974 he won the State Artist title from Punjab Government. In 1983 he won the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and in 2001 Indian government issued a postal stamp for the honor of Sobha Singh. He was also Honored with the degree of Doctor of Literature from Punjabi University, Patiala. Death – On 22 August 1986, Sardar Sobha Singh died in PGI Chandigarh.
