Somalal Shah (14 February 1905–1994) was an Indian painter and art teacher. Born in Kapadvanj and educated in Bombay and Calcutta, he spent three decades painting and teaching art in Bhavnagar in Saurashtra, Gujarat.
On Ravishankar Raval's advice, he joined Dakshinamurti, an educational institute established by Nanabhai Bhatt, as an arts teacher. Dakshinamurti published a portfolio of fifteen paintings titled Rang Rekha in 1934–35. In Bhavnagar State, the royal family of Bhavnagar became his patron.[4] Dakshinamurti moved out of Bhavnagar in 1939. So Somalal taught briefly at Kumarshala and Gharshala until 1943.[6][7] He joined Alfred High School in 1944 on request of the royals of Bhavnagar state. He taught arts there for two decades.[1][2][3] He retired in 1960 and moved to Ahmedabad.[5]
He attempted to use European techniques on Indian subjects. He also worked in styles of Indian miniature paintings and the Bengal revivalist movement.[4] He avoided heavy oil colour strokes and muted sepia tones. As he studied in Culcutta, he was greatly influenced by Nandalal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore. He used a wash technique which later became his signature style. He lived in Saurashtra region of Gujarat for almost three decades where his works depicted the culture and people of the region. He also illustrated the book on the birds of Kutch and Saurashtra.[1][2][3][8] His paintings were natural and realistic with great attention to the details.[9] He was a fond of wash technique of painting.[5]