B. Prabha (1933 – 2001) was a prolific Indian artist who worked primarily in oil on canvas. She is best known for her graceful, elongated figures of pensive rural women, each dominated by a single colour. By the time of her death, her work had been shown in over 50 exhibitions, and had found its way into significant art collections, including India's National Gallery of Modern Art, the TIFR Art Collection and the Air India Art Collection. Prabha started working at a time when India had few women artists. She was deeply inspired by the work of seminal modernist Amrita Sher-Gil. Much like Sher-Gil, the protagonists of Prabha's works were usually women. She was moved by the plight of rural women, and over time, they became the main theme of her work. In an interview with Youngbuzz India, she said "I have yet to see one happy woman." Her paintings also covered a wide range of subjects from landscapes to social issues like droughts, hunger and homelessness. Early life and education Badwelgar or B. Prabha grew up in the small village of Bela, near Nagpur in Maharashtra, India. She studied at the Nagpur School of Art, before moving to Bombay on a scholarship, completing her Diploma in Painting and Mural Painting at the Sir J. J. School of Art in the year 1954-55. It was here that she met her husband, the artist and sculptor, B. Vithal, whom she married in 1956. In Bombay, the artist couple struggled to make their way, selling pieces of family jewellery and sometimes depending on the assistance of friends for a place to stay and store their works. In her formative years, Prabha was equally interested in music and art. Advised by her elder brother against pursuing two vocations at once, she chose art after completing her schooling. An early inspiration was the pioneering Indian-Hungarian modern artist, Amrita Sher-Gil. Like Sher-Gil, Prabha dreamed of being a renowned artist, taking her paintings to all corners of the world. Career At her first exhibition, held when she was still a student at art school, 3 of Prabha's paintings were acquired by Homi J. Bhabha, eminent nuclear scientist and patron of the arts, for the iconic art collection of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Prabha's signature formal style evolved after her marriage to B. Vithal, when she moved from a modern abstraction to more decorative figuration.