Sketches of artist namboothiri paintings

Indian painter and sculptor (1925–2023)

Karuvattu Mana Vasudevan Namboothiri (13 September 1925 – 7 July 2023),^[1] better known as Artist Namboothiri or simply Namboothiri, was an Indian painter and sculptor, known for his line art and copper relief works.^[2] He illustrated for many Malayalam writers such as Thakazhy Shivasankara Pillai, Kesavadev, M.

T. Vasudevan Nair, Uroob, S. K. Pottekkatt, Edasseri Govindan Nair, and V.K.N., and was one of the most prolific literary illustrators of India.^[3] He was also a chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi. The Akademi awarded him the Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2003.^[4] He was also a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director.

Biography

Namboothiri was born at Karuvattu Mana in Ponnani, in Malappuram district of the south Indian state of Kerala^[1][5] to Parameshwaran Namboothiri and Sreedevi Antharjanam, as their eldest so