About the artist

The everyday, held sacred

Dr Dolly Prasad, New Delhi.

PortraitsThe Red TurbanOil on canvas · 30 × 30 in · 2015A red turban, a gold earring, a smile. The rest of his story stays his own.View the painting

PortraitsThree Women in RedOil on canvas · 2015Three women in red, their veils drawn close together.View the painting

PortraitsThe Chai BoyOil on canvas · 2015The chai boy between orders, chin in hand, in a world of blue.View the painting

PortraitsThe Yellow TurbanOil on canvas · 2015The yellow catches you first. Then the eyes, which ask for longer.View the painting

FaithThe Newspaper ReaderOil on canvas · 2015The morning paper, opened like a ritual.View the painting

PortraitsThe Red TurbanOil on canvas · 30 × 30 in · 2015A red turban, a gold earring, a smile. The rest of his story stays his own.View the painting

PortraitsThree Women in RedOil on canvas · 2015Three women in red, their veils drawn close together.View the painting

PortraitsThe Chai BoyOil on canvas · 2015The chai boy between orders, chin in hand, in a world of blue.View the painting

PortraitsThe Yellow TurbanOil on canvas · 2015The yellow catches you first. Then the eyes, which ask for longer.View the painting

FaithThe Newspaper ReaderOil on canvas · 2015The morning paper, opened like a ritual.View the painting

PortraitsThe Red TurbanOil on canvas · 30 × 30 in · 2015A red turban, a gold earring, a smile. The rest of his story stays his own.View the painting

PortraitsThree Women in RedOil on canvas · 2015Three women in red, their veils drawn close together.View the painting

PortraitsThe Chai BoyOil on canvas · 2015The chai boy between orders, chin in hand, in a world of blue.View the painting

PortraitsThe Yellow TurbanOil on canvas · 2015The yellow catches you first. Then the eyes, which ask for longer.View the painting

FaithThe Newspaper ReaderOil on canvas · 2015The morning paper, opened like a ritual.View the painting

Onset of SpringThreads of FaithOil on canvas · 36 × 30 in · 2026“Every thread representing a hope, desire, promise, or prayer.”View the painting

Onset of SpringBlooming InnocenceOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2024“The vibrant bougainvillea serves as a reminder that beauty can be found even amidst the thorn of life’s challenges.”View the painting Exhibited atIndia Habitat CentreNew Delhi

Onset of SpringWoman with PoppiesOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2024A face turned to one side, and the poppies in full voice around her.View the painting

Onset of SpringWhispers of StillnessOil on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2024“Sometimes, I paint not to show, but to pause.”View the painting

Onset of SpringUnder Canopy of GreensOil on canvas · 36 × 36 in · 2025“The bananas on his head look like a natural crown from the earth.”View the painting

Onset of SpringThreads of FaithOil on canvas · 36 × 30 in · 2026“Every thread representing a hope, desire, promise, or prayer.”View the painting

Onset of SpringWoman with PoppiesOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2024A face turned to one side, and the poppies in full voice around her.View the painting

Onset of SpringWhispers of StillnessOil on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2024“Sometimes, I paint not to show, but to pause.”View the painting

Onset of SpringUnder Canopy of GreensOil on canvas · 36 × 36 in · 2025“The bananas on his head look like a natural crown from the earth.”View the painting

Gone Are The DaysShree 420Oil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Milk cans beneath a peeling Shree 420 poster. The morning round passes an old film still on the wall.View the painting

FaithBuddha Under the Bodhi TreeOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015A monk beneath the Bodhi tree, held in green and gold.View the painting

PortraitsThe Lattice TurbanOil on canvas · 2015A lattice of cloth tied above the face, and the lines of a life beneath it.View the painting

PortraitsThe DoodhwalaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015The doodhwala on his round, the cans swinging from his bicycle.View the painting

Onset of SpringPetals of ThoughtOil and pastel on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2024“A pause, a breath, a space where the mind softens and listens.”View the painting

Gone Are The DaysShree 420Oil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Milk cans beneath a peeling Shree 420 poster. The morning round passes an old film still on the wall.View the painting

FaithBuddha Under the Bodhi TreeOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015A monk beneath the Bodhi tree, held in green and gold.View the painting

PortraitsThe Lattice TurbanOil on canvas · 2015A lattice of cloth tied above the face, and the lines of a life beneath it.View the painting

PortraitsThe DoodhwalaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015The doodhwala on his round, the cans swinging from his bicycle.View the painting

Onset of SpringPetals of ThoughtOil and pastel on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2024“A pause, a breath, a space where the mind softens and listens.”View the painting

Gone Are The DaysShree 420Oil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Milk cans beneath a peeling Shree 420 poster. The morning round passes an old film still on the wall.View the painting

FaithBuddha Under the Bodhi TreeOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015A monk beneath the Bodhi tree, held in green and gold.View the painting

PortraitsThe Lattice TurbanOil on canvas · 2015A lattice of cloth tied above the face, and the lines of a life beneath it.View the painting

PortraitsThe DoodhwalaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015The doodhwala on his round, the cans swinging from his bicycle.View the painting

Onset of SpringPetals of ThoughtOil and pastel on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2024“A pause, a breath, a space where the mind softens and listens.”View the painting

Gone Are The DaysGone Are The Days [A]Oil on canvas · 2018A tonga and an autorickshaw on the same road, given the same light.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysGone Are The Days [B]Oil on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2018A bullock cart beside a truck. Two speeds, one street.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysTwenty PaiseOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Broad shoulders in front, a twenty-paise coin behind. What is earned and what is carried, on one canvas.View the painting Her recordEighteen exhibitions and art fairs2005–2018

PortraitsThe Kadhai SellerOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2015The kadhai seller among his pans, circle upon circle.View the painting

PortraitsMother and SonOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015A mother and her son, close, and the small space between them.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysGone Are The Days [A]Oil on canvas · 2018A tonga and an autorickshaw on the same road, given the same light.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysGone Are The Days [B]Oil on canvas · 24 × 24 in · 2018A bullock cart beside a truck. Two speeds, one street.View the painting

PortraitsThe Kadhai SellerOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2015The kadhai seller among his pans, circle upon circle.View the painting

PortraitsMother and SonOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015A mother and her son, close, and the small space between them.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysThe BullocksOil on canvas · 48 × 48 in · 2018Before engines, there were these two, shoulder to shoulder under one yoke. The wheel still stands. The road has moved on.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysThe Matka and the CoinsOil on canvas · 2018A clay gullak, and the coins it was made to hold: 20 paise, 5 naye paise, 4 annas. The coins have moved on. The gullak is still here, still holding.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysThe Cycle Rickshaw-walaOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2018A rickshaw-wala and his cycle, large against a red field of smaller vehicles.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysTerracottaOil on canvas · 36 × 36 in · 2015Clay pots, mouth after mouth, in the colour of the earth they were made from.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysPatra PetikaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Patra petika: the red letterbox, set against a field of stamps. Letters went in; the world came back.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysThe Cycle Rickshaw-walaOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2018A rickshaw-wala and his cycle, large against a red field of smaller vehicles.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysTerracottaOil on canvas · 36 × 36 in · 2015Clay pots, mouth after mouth, in the colour of the earth they were made from.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysPatra PetikaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Patra petika: the red letterbox, set against a field of stamps. Letters went in; the world came back.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysThe Cycle Rickshaw-walaOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2018A rickshaw-wala and his cycle, large against a red field of smaller vehicles.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysTerracottaOil on canvas · 36 × 36 in · 2015Clay pots, mouth after mouth, in the colour of the earth they were made from.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysPatra PetikaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Patra petika: the red letterbox, set against a field of stamps. Letters went in; the world came back.View the painting

Gone Are The DaysMother IndiaOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2018Steel kettles in front of a Mother India poster: the street’s tea, and the street’s cinema.View the painting ICCR · June 2010A Lifetime to PaintAzad Bhavan Art Gallery, New Delhi

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IVOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018A carved knocker on a turquoise door, waiting for a visitor.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IIIOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018A bolt drawn across teal paint. Whatever is inside stays inside.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018A ring on a weathered door, the paint worn down to its layers.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IIOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018Red wood, teal wood, and a lock holding them shut.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IVOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018A carved knocker on a turquoise door, waiting for a visitor.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IIIOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018A bolt drawn across teal paint. Whatever is inside stays inside.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018A ring on a weathered door, the paint worn down to its layers.View the painting

Bandh DarwazeBandh Darwaze IIOil on canvas · 12 × 12 in · 2018Red wood, teal wood, and a lock holding them shut.View the painting

FaithVakratundaOil on canvas · 48 × 30 in · 2015A lamp raised to a wall of scripture. What do you bring to a prayer?View the painting

FaithThe Blue BuddhaOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2015Small figures in saffron before a vast blue face. Stillness, at two scales.View the painting

FaithThe Peepal ShrineOil on canvas · 2015A peepal trunk wound in red thread, a thread for every wish.View the painting

FaithGayatriOil on canvas · 48 × 30 in · 2015A devotee sits before the written word. And what do you hope to leave behind?View the painting

FaithThe AartiOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015The aarti flame, lifted: a gesture of seconds, held on canvas.View the painting

FaithVakratundaOil on canvas · 48 × 30 in · 2015A lamp raised to a wall of scripture. What do you bring to a prayer?View the painting

FaithThe Blue BuddhaOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2015Small figures in saffron before a vast blue face. Stillness, at two scales.View the painting

FaithThe Peepal ShrineOil on canvas · 2015A peepal trunk wound in red thread, a thread for every wish.View the painting

FaithGayatriOil on canvas · 48 × 30 in · 2015A devotee sits before the written word. And what do you hope to leave behind?View the painting

FaithThe AartiOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015The aarti flame, lifted: a gesture of seconds, held on canvas.View the painting

FaithVakratundaOil on canvas · 48 × 30 in · 2015A lamp raised to a wall of scripture. What do you bring to a prayer?View the painting

FaithThe Blue BuddhaOil on canvas · 36 × 48 in · 2015Small figures in saffron before a vast blue face. Stillness, at two scales.View the painting

FaithThe Peepal ShrineOil on canvas · 2015A peepal trunk wound in red thread, a thread for every wish.View the painting

FaithGayatriOil on canvas · 48 × 30 in · 2015A devotee sits before the written word. And what do you hope to leave behind?View the painting

FaithThe AartiOil on canvas · 48 × 36 in · 2015The aarti flame, lifted: a gesture of seconds, held on canvas.View the painting

Dr Dolly Prasad beside one of her paintings at the First International Kala Mela, 2018

Dr Dolly Prasad is a New Delhi artist who holds the everyday sacred. For her, the ordinary is never small: a clay gullak, a closed door, a lamp lifted at aarti, a face at the corner of a lane. Each holds a story. Looking back, those ordinary days were the good ones, and she paints them so we can see them clearly now, and keep seeing the ones we are living today.

Who she is

The good days were the everyday

She is a doctor, and a painter in oil on canvas. Doctors learn to look at people carefully, and she kept that habit when she picked up the brush: the play of emotion on a face has always held her, at the hospital and on the canvas.

Her subject is the India around her as it changes: rickshaws sharing the road with autos, coins out of use, old doors shut and kept. She paints them with the warmth of someone who remembers, and the hope of someone who still looks. Never relics; always parts of a life.

The Red Turban, 2015A red turban, a gold earring, a smile. The rest of his story stays his own.

The work

She captures the everyday: its waiting and wishing, its worship and whispers.

A clay gullak and the coins it was made to hold. A door nobody opens any more. A lamp raised to a wall of scripture. She gives these ordinary things the scale, the colour and the stillness we usually keep for the sacred.

Why these things? Because they are what made it home, and they are the first a changing country overlooks. Each painting is a way of saying they matter.

A doctor’s eye

From a bullock cart to a child beneath banana leaves

A doctor is taught to look beneath the surface. She turns that eye on the everyday, a lamp, a thread, a pause, until the thing you walk past is the thing you stop for. In her words: “Sometimes, I paint not to show, but to pause.”

The five collections

The Bullocks, 2018Before engines, there were these two, shoulder to shoulder under one yoke. The wheel still stands. The road has moved on.

From the archive

In the press

Dr Dolly Prasad smiles as a cameraman films her beside The Bullocks, a reporter’s microphone held up to her. — **In front of the cameras**India Habitat Centre · November 2010

A television excerpt: the camera moves from her paintings to Dr Dolly Prasad, speaking in the exhibition. — **On screen · June 2010**NCR television · 12 June 2010

Dr Dolly Prasad answers a reporter beside The Bullocks. — **Beside The Bullocks**India Habitat Centre · November 2010

A reporter holds out a microphone to Dr Dolly Prasad beside her painting of a rickshaw puller. — **Questions at the wall**India Habitat Centre · November 2010

A Delhi Times clipping, Must See Must Do, listing Art Today And Tomorrow, a group show of paintings at Travancore Art Gallery, with one of her paintings. — **Delhi Times · Must See Must Do**In the papers

A television excerpt: a reporter stands in a gallery with paintings on its walls, then the camera moves across the work. — **On television**Television archive

Dr Dolly Prasad speaks into a reporter’s microphone, The Bullocks behind her. — **In conversation**India Habitat Centre · November 2010

Dr Dolly Prasad is interviewed against the red-brick wall, her rickshaw puller painting behind her. — **On the red-brick wall**India Habitat Centre · November 2010

ListeningIndia Habitat Centre · November 2010

Dr Dolly Prasad in conversation with a reporter, the rickshaw puller painting behind her. — **The artist and her audience**India Habitat Centre · November 2010

ListeningIndia Habitat Centre · November 2010

All the press, on Exhibitions →

On the walls, and in the news

Eighteen exhibitions and art fairs

Between 2005 and 2018 her paintings hung at India Habitat Centre, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Triveni Kala Sangam, Travancore Art Gallery and Nehru Art Gallery in Bombay, and at the First International Kala Mela organised by Lalit Kala Akademi.

Her shows have been covered on television and in the papers. Today her paintings are in private collections in India, the USA and the UK.

See the exhibitions

India Habitat Centre, 2010Lighting the lamp at the opening.

“My paintings are just a representation of some and many others of the shades and paradigms that I picked up at different stages in my life.”

Dr Dolly Prasad, on her work

See her work Enquire Walk through the studio