Artist Nambhoothiri - The legend

K. M. Vasudevan Namboothiri, better known as Artist Namboothiri, is a well-known Painter and Sculptor from the state of Kerala, India. He is the winner of the Raja Ravi Varma Award for the year 2003. He is famous for his own style of "Line sketches or Rekhachithrangal".


Artist Namboothiri has made some of the illustrations done for characters that appeared in literary publications in Kerala, very popular among Malayalee readers. His cartoon series "Naniyammayum Lokavum" in Mathrubhumi was extremely popular.

 He has worked for Mathrubhumi, a leading Malayalam publication. He has also done illustrations for several leading authors in Malayalam likeThakazhy Shivasankara Pillai, Kesavadev, M.T.Vasudevan Nair, Uroob, S.K.Pottekkatt and V.K.N. He is also a proponent of "finger painting". He also does copper sheet relief work. Mr. Namboothiri has never placed his paintings for sale, except while he was a student in Madras.Artist Namboothiri was born at Karuvattu Mana of Ponnani.

He was a disciple of renowned artist K.C.S.Paniker.
He also drew inspiration from renowned painters like Mr. Roy Choudhari and Mr. Dhanapal. He studied painting in the Madras School of Fine Arts.He has been the chairman of the Kerala Lalitakala Academy for more than one term. During his tenure as the Chairman of Kerala Lalithakala Academy, Mr. Namboothiri took upon himself the task of setting up an own building for the centre in Thrissur, which till then was working from rented space. He was also the key figure behind the conversion of the Durbar Hall in Kochi into an art gallery.
Honours....

• Raja Ravi Varma award in 2003
• State Award for the Best Art Direction for the Malayalam film Utharayanam in 1974
• Kerala State Institute of Children's Literature Bala Sahitya Award for best illustration for his work in Kuttikalude Ramayanam (Ramayana for children) in 2004

[edit]