Shyam Bihari Agrawal

Shyam Bihari Agrawal is an Indian artist, writer, and former academic from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. In 2025, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contributions to the field of arts.

Early life and education Agrawal was born in 1942 in Sirsa. Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh. After completing his early education locally, he earned a five-year postgraduate diploma from the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, which he completed on 4 January 1968. He was mentored by painter Kshitindranath Mazumdar.

In 1979, he received a Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) degree from University of Allahabad for his dissertation titled “Bharatiya Chitrakala Mein Reetikaleen Sahitya Ki Abivyakti”, which explored how classical Hindi literature is reflected in Indian painting.

Throughout his career, he participated in art workshops and seminars organized by institutions including Lalit Kala Akademi and various museums and universities. He was nominated as a member of the State Academy of Fine Arts in Lucknow, where he contributed to art education and edited the academy’s publication Kala Trimasik. He also wrote a monograph on Kshitindranath Mazumdar, which was published by the academy.

Agrawal has served on academic and research committees of universities such as Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya and Kanpur University.