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{{For|the politician|Richard Bartholomew (MP)}}
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{{Infobox writer 
| name = Richard Bartholomew
| image = RLB_Two_pix-1.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| alt =
| caption =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Ko Thein Pe
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1926|11|29}}
| birth_place = [[Dawei|Tavoy]], [[British Burma]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1985|01|11|1926|11|29}}
| death_place = [[New Delhi]], India
| occupation = Art critic
| nationality = Burmese, Indian
| citizenship = Indian
| education =
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| notableworks =
| spouse =Rati Bartholomew
| partner =
| children =[[Pablo Bartholomew|Pablo]]<br/>Robin
| relatives =
| influences =
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| awards =
| signature =
| website = {{url|www.bartholomew.tv}}
| portaldisp =
}}
'''Richard Lawrence Bartholomew''' (29 November 1926 – 11 January 1985) was an Indian art critic, photographer, painter, poet, and writer.

==Early life==
Richard Bartholomew fled from [[Tavoy]] (Dawei), Burma ([[Myanmar]]), where he was born, during the [[Second World War]]. To escape the Japanese capture of Burma and the imminent persecution on account of their Christian names, Bartholomew fled with his family, walking the General Stilwell Road from [[Mandalay]] to [[Ledo, Assam|Ledo]] in upper [[Assam]], India.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} His schooling at [[Basic Education High School No. 6 Botataung|St. Paul's School]] in [[Rangoon]] (Yangon) was interrupted because of the Japanese invasion and Bartholomew finished high school at Delhi's Cambridge School.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} He received his bachelor's and master's degree from [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]] in 1950. While at St. Stephens, he met Rati Batra, his future wife, who was herself a refugee from [[Pakistan]] who came to India during the [[Partition of India|Partition]] in 1947. Bartholomew lived in India as a stateless citizen until 1967 when he gained Indian citizenship, thereby closing all possibilities of returning to Burma which had become a dictatorship from the early–1960s.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

==Photographer, painter, poet==
Bartholomew pursued a career not only as an art critic but also as a writer, poet, painter, and curator.<ref name="Critic's Choice: The Art Critic Richard Bartholomew">Pankaj Mullick. "Critic's Choice: The Art Critic Richard Bartholomew." ''Hindustan Times'', Delhi, September 23, 2012. [http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/critics-choice/story-EDIvWkFzezZYpgFQv9v3DO.html]</ref> Solo shows of his work were held in Delhi and Bombay in the 1950s. Between then and the 1970s, he documented life around him through photography. Though he rarely exhibited his photographic work during his lifetime, his pictures intimately portrayed his family and his circle of artist friends and associates and his travels in India and the US.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

==Art critic and writer==
Bartholomew was a pioneering art critic in that he was one of the first to initiate dialogues with painters. He fostered a sense of community within the artists and communicated their ideals to the public who were not entirely receptive or convinced of the daring, artistic exploration of India's [[Bombay Progressive Artists' Group|Progressive Art Movement]].

Through numerous reviews published from the early–1950s until the late–1970s in publications like ''[[The Indian Express]]'', ''[[The Times of India]]'', and ''Thought'', Bartholomew documented the artistic trajectories of painters such as [[Francis Newton Souza]], [[Tyeb Mehta]], [[Manishi Dey]], Biren De, [[Ram Kumar (artist)|Ram Kumar]], Krishen Khanna, [[Akbar Padamsee]], [[SH Raza]], [[Sailoz Mookherjea]], [[Bhupen Khakkar]], [[Satish Gujral]]; sculptors like [[Ramkinkar Baij]], Dhanraj Bhagat, Chintamoni Kar, [[Somnath Hore]], [[Sankho Chaudhuri]]; graphic artists including Kanwal Krishna, Devayani Krishna, [[Krishna Reddy (artist)|Krishna Reddy]], [[Jagmohan Chopra]], [[Jyoti Bhatt]] as well as renowned photographers [[Raghu Rai]] and TS Satyan.<ref name="Critic's Choice: The Art Critic Richard Bartholomew"/>

Besides a series of articles on Indian and [[Tibetan art]], Bartholomew also co-authored, [https://openlibrary.org/b/OL7997371M/Husain/ Husain], a monograph on [[M.F. Husain]] which was published by [[Harry Abrams]], New York in 1972. In 1974, he published a monograph on [[Krishna Reddy (artist)|Krishna Reddy]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}} He also wrote poems and short stories which were published in magazines including ''Thought'' and ''[[The Illustrated Weekly of India|Illustrated Weekly]]''.{{Citation needed|date=November 2013}}

==Gallerist and curator==
Bartholomew was the Gallery Director of Kunika-Chemould, New Delhi's first contemporary art gallery. Subsequently, from 1966–1973, he worked with the [http://www.tibethousenewdelhi.org/ Tibet House], New Delhi as their curator and development officer where he catalogued the [[Dalai Lama]]'s collection of religious artefacts and travelled with them to the US and Japan. He was also the recipient of the [[Asian Cultural Council]]'s [[John D. Rockefeller 3rd]] Award in 1970. He was appointed Commissioner of the Silver Jubilee of Indian Independence exhibition held in Washington DC in 1973 and travelled to UK in 1982 as a [[British Council]] Visitor and as Commissioner of the Festival of India Exhibition held in Britain in 1982, during which he co-curated the exhibition ''[[Contemporary Indian Art (Exhibition)|Contemporary Indian Art]]'' at the Royal Academy of Arts with [[Geeta Kapur]] and [[Akbar Padamsee]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Contemporary Indian Art|last=Kapur|first=Geeta|publisher=Indian Advisory Committee, Festival of India, U.K.|year=1982}}</ref> Bartholomew served as the Secretary of the [[Lalit Kala Akademi]] from 1977 to 1985.

Barely 58, Bartholomew died in 1985. He is survived by his wife Rati Bartholomew and his two sons [[Pablo Bartholomew|Pablo]] and Robin.

==Works==
===Art criticism===
*''R. Bartholomew and S. Kapur: [https://openlibrary.org/b/OL7997371M/Husain/ Husain]. Harry N Abrams, New York, 1971, co-authored by Shiv Kapur''
*''Krishna Reddy [[Krishna Reddy (artist)|Krishna Reddy]]. Contemporary Indian Art Series, Lalit Kala Akademi, India, 1974''
*''R. Bartholomew and P. Bartholomew: Richard Bartholomew - The Art Critic. An insider's account of the birth of Modern Indian Art. issuu Publishing, 2014. [http://www.richardbartholomew.info/artbook/]''

===Poetry===
*''The Story of Siddhartha's Release.'' (Writers Workshop, India, 1972)
*''Poems.'' (Writers Workshop, India, 1973)
*''The Cycle'' (sonnets). (Writers Workshop, 1986)

===Photography===
*''[http://www.bartholomew.tv/thebook.php/ A Critic's Eye.]'' (PHOTOINK, New Delhi, Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai & Sepia International, New York, 2009)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.bartholomew.tv/ The Official website]
* [http://www.india-seminar.com/2007/578/578_ram_rahman.htm Ram Rahman on Photography in India, Seminar]
* [http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/28004829/In-the-name-of-the-father.html/ ''The Hindustan Times, Mint'' Review of 'A Critic's Eye', an exhibition of Bartholomew's photographs at Sepia International Gallery, New York]
* [http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/black-and-white-magic/411657/ The ''Indian Express'' Review of 'A Critic's Eye', an exhibition of Bartholomew's photographs at PHOTOINK, New Delhi]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090213042840/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/02/06/stories/2009020650150300.htm ''The Hindu'' Review of 'A Critic's Eye' at PHOTOINK, New Delhi]
* [http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=RSSFeed-lifestyle&id=618df558-bc34-4014-920e-0db9e842f3ea&Headline=Richard+and+his+friends/ The ''Hindustan Times'' Review of 'A Critic's Eye' at PHOTOINK, New Delhi]
* [http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/asian-age-plus/culture-plus/an-aesthete-who-blended-art-with-life.aspx/ ''The Asian Age'' Review of 'A Critic's Eye' at PHOTOINK, New Delhi]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholomew, Richard}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
[[Category:Burmese writers]]
[[Category:People from Tanintharyi Region]]
[[Category:Indian art critics]]
[[Category:Burmese photographers]]
[[Category:People with acquired Indian citizenship]]
[[Category:Burmese emigrants to India]]
[[Category:Indian art curators]]
[[Category:20th-century Burmese writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]

Richard Bartholomew - Revision history

>ToFf at 18:19, 19 June 2021