Baburao Sadwelkar (28 June 1928 – 23 November 2000) was an Indian painter, art writer, educator and administrator.

From 1975 to 1986, he served as the Director of Art for Maharashtra State where the preservation and propagation of this artistic tradition prospered under his guidance.

After being appointed as the state's art director, he spent a lot of time in administrative work which affected his artistic output.

In 1948, he got an opportunity to see a demonstration by renowned Bombay artist S. L. Haldankar at the Rajaram Art Society in Kolhapur.

[5] The influence of Kolhapur's art tradition on Sadwelkar began to wane shortly after his arrival in Mumbai.

Working hard to earn a living on the side, he got admitted to the fourth year of the school in 1950 and gained reputation as a smart student in a short time.

At this time, the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group was also formed which gained recognition for their experimental and rebellious art.

In 1956, he formed the Bombay Group along with K. H. Ara, K. K. Hebbar, Shiavax Chavda, Laxman Pai, D. G. Kulkarni, Mohan Samant and Harkishan Lall.

Sadwelkar taught the mural decoration class which included a systematic study of fresco, tempera, mosaic and terracotta medium.

Considering this fact, he was determined to create awareness about the painting-sculptural vision, traditional and folk arts in Maharashtra.

He introduced ingenious and important schemes which provided impetus to the work of preservation and promotion of the state's art tradition.

[3] The preservation, conservation and exhibition of artworks created by the students and archived in the collections of the School of Art from 1885 to 1975, started under Sadwelkar's guidance.

[6] Due to the acceptance of the post of Director of Arts, Sadwelkar's painting routine gradually came to a standstill.

[2] Later, he was selected to the Board of Trustees, Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay in 1990–91[1] and was also the member of the general council at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

Sadwelkar organized a centennial exhibition in 1989 that showcased the transformation that took place in the field of visual arts during this time period.

Publisher H. V. Mote planned to bring out Vishrabdha Sharda – Khand Teen (Part 3), a book on correspondence letters of Indian artists.

Although, after realizing that the preamble was somewhat tilting towards the Bengal school, Mote decided to add some new parts and handed over the responsibility Sadwelkar.

The latter corresponded with Kowshik without hesitation and wrote a chapter titled Kalapravah in Maharashtra – Bombay School along with an introduction to the artists.

Bright colours, vigorous handling, freedom of invention and experimental use of distortion were the features of his artworks.

[1][2] In his depictions of nature, he found a unique blend of Mumbai's environment, namely buildings, squares, trees, trams, buses and crowds.

[16] Apart from this, Sadwelkar also created commercial murals for National Defence Academy, Pune; Bal Bhavan, Mumbai; Asia '72 Industries Fair, New Delhi; and Hurst-Euless-Bedford School in Texas, USA.

[4][17] The works of Sadwelkar are housed in the collections of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai;[18][19] National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai;[20] and Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh among many others.

Sadwelkar gave out this award to women artists at the grass-roots level who deserved recognition as well as required support to propel their art career further.

[26] Ravindra Mestry, son of Baburao Painter, was Sadwelkar's classmate in Kolhapur and their friendship lasted for the rest of their lives.

[16] The book Maharashtratil Kalavanta – Adarniya ani Smaraniya (Maharashtra Artists – Respected and Memorable), which he had compiled before his death, was published in 2007.