Kolkata: Eminent painter Paritosh Sen was conferred the Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award for Fine Arts 2008 by West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi here Friday evening.

Painter Shuvaprasanna accepted the award at the ICCR Centre on behalf of Sen, who could not be present on the occasion for health reasons.

"The honour that has been conferred to me is the ultimate award a painter can wish for in his lifetime. I can't describe my feelings in words. I am already 90 years old but there is a long way to go to be able to literally live up to this honour," Sen told IANS.

'Legends of India' Lifetime Achievement Award was introduced with the objective of honouring accomplished artists or organisations for their efforts in promoting traditional art forms like music, theatre or fine arts.

The award carries a gold plaque, an angavastra (a shawl) and a cash reward of Rs.25,000.

A pioneer of the modern art movement in India, Sen has excelled in using the human figure set against a two-dimensional picture plane to express his views on contemporary life. His works have been exhibited in India and abroad. Also a prolific writer, Sen has published many works in both Bengali and English.

Legends of India is an independent society whose prime objective is to promote and nurture traditional Indian art forms.

The previous recipients of the Legends of India Lifetime Achievement Award include renowned names like Mrinalini Sarabhai, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Yamini Krishnamurthy and Chandralekha.