Jamini Roy was an Indian painter from Kolkata. Roy achieved success first as a portrait painter. Then in the 1920s he changed his style to use elements from Bengali peasant art. This lead to a period of great poverty, but he persevered. He had to make his own paints from basic materials. In the 1930s, leading Indian writers and critics began to recognize that Roy was forging a new style of art, intrinsically Indian and original. Ultimately Roy gained international fame for his distinctive style. About 1944, he befriended Austin Coates, who became an ardent supporter. Coates was one of few who Roy let observe him work.