Krishna Hawlaji Ara

Krishnaji Howlaji Ara was an Indian painter and is seen as the first contemporary Indian painter to meticulously use the female nude as a subject. He was a part of the Progressive Artists' Group in Bombay and was a founder of the Artists' Centre in Mumbai. Opinions about Ara's works remain divided with his critics accusing them of lacking perfection and not referenced from life. In 2017, curator Qaroon Thapar 22 works of Ara in an exhibition in Mumbai called "Privately Ara".