The artist received Padmashree 1968, Padmabhushan 1973 and Padmavibhushan 1991, name it:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 3:
Maqbool Fida Husain, commonly known as M. F. Husain, is the artist whose monumental career aligns with receiving the progression of India's highest civilian honours. As a co-founder of the Progressive Artists' Group, Husain was instrumental in defining modern Indian art and his national stature was recognised sequentially by the government. He received the Padma Shri in 1966 (close to the 1968 year mentioned in the question), the Padma Bhushan in 1973, and the Padma Vibhushan in 1991. This rare sequence of all three awards, culminating in India's second-highest civilian honour, confirms his status as a key figure whose imaginative and powerful narrative paintings have left an indelible mark on Indian culture and art history.

The incorrect option is 1:
Francis Newton Souza (S. N. Souza) was a pioneering modern artist and a founding member of the Progressive Artists’ Group along with Husain. However, Souza became a highly successful expatriate artist, spending most of his career in London and New York. His art, characterized by fierce, often expressionistic forms, followed a different trajectory of state recognition. Critically, he did not receive the Padma Vibhushan, the final and highest honour listed in the question, thus disqualifying him from the sequence of awards sought.

The incorrect option is 2:
Ram Gopal Vijayvargiya was a respected traditional artist from the Jaipur school, celebrated for his delicate and poetic miniature paintings, often rendered in the Bengal School's Wash technique. While a significant figure in Rajasthan's art scene, his style and national recognition belonged to a different school of thought than the modernist pioneers. Crucially, his Padma Shri was conferred much later, in 1984, and he was not awarded the Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan, making the dates and the combination of awards inconsistent with the question.

The incorrect option is 4:
Narayan Shridhar Bendre (N. S. Bendre) was another giant of Indian modern art, known for his vibrant colour palette and mastery of various styles. He was an influential academic and artist who did receive two of the three honours. Specifically, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1969 and the Padma Bhushan in 1975. However, Bendre did not receive the Padma Vibhushan in 1991 or any other year. Since the question requires an artist who received all three awards with the specified sequence, the absence of the Padma Vibhushan definitively rules him out.