Lalu Prasad Shaw is a master of both printmaking as well as tempera painting. In printmaking, he expresses his modernity, both in terms of technique and imagery. His imagery is taken from everyday life, depicting simple objects and events. In his small-sized, tempera paintings, one notices stylistic elements derived from the nineteenth-century Company School paintings and the Kalighat pat painting tradition. His single figures and still life are done in a style that is very indigenous and sophisticated. Brought up in rural Bengal, Lalu Shaw’s indigenous sensibilities played a vital role in evolving his works in tempera. He portrays essentially, ordinary folks from everyday life. He has always been fascinated by the middle class Babu culture of 19th and early 20th century Bengal and lot of his male characters resonate that spirit. Lalu Prasad Shaw’s works are full of irony and subtle humour, he is one of the finest exponents of graphic art and tempera painting, and has played a seminal role in evolving the language of modern Indian art. Two early landscapes rom his very young days have been featured in the current exhibition.