The Wonder of

INDIA
Explorations Through
19th and 20th Century Art
The Wonder of

INDIA
Explorations Through
1 9th and 20th Century Art

The Fuller Building, 41 East 57 Street, Suite 708,

New York, NY 10022
ARTIST INDEX

ARTIST PAGE ARTIST PAGE

A Ganesh Haloi 63
J. Sultan Ali 22 M. F. Husain 43
Ambadas 48, 49
Anonymous (Kalighat Pat) 16, 17 K
Sanat Kar 83
B Prokash Karmakar 80
Bikash Bhattacharjee 39 Balraj Khanna 37
Natvar Bhavsar 54, 55 K. S. Kulkarni 87
Nikhil Biswas 30, 78
Arun Bose 33 M
Sakti Burman 85 Rabin Mondal 24, 25
L. Munuswamy 58
C
Avinash Chandra 52, 53 P
Sankho Chaudhuri
Chittaprosad
57
88, 89
Jeram Patel
B. Prabha
64, 65
38 CONTENTS
D. P. Roy Chowdhury 31
Company Painting 8, 9, 10, 11 R
Krishna Reddy 68, 69
D P. T. Reddy 13, 70
Prodosh Das Gupta 82 Jamini Roy 18, 20, 21 7 15 27
Sunil Das 74, 75 Prosanto Roy 31
Bimal Dasgupta 66, 67 Presently Past Folk Meets A Modernist’s
Shanti Dave 50, 51 S Modern Discovery
Biren De 35 G. R. Santosh 60, 72
Sunayani Devi 13 Paritosh Sen 34, 44
Rajendra Dhawan 62 Sunil Madhav Sen 86
Shyamal Dutta Ray 81 Himmat Shah 40, 41
47 77
Satish Sinha 32
Reading The Life Real And
E M. Suriyamoorthy 84
Abstract Surreal
Early Views of India 28, 29
V
H S. G. Vasudev 59
Asit Kumar Haldar 12 V. Viswanadhan 71

2 3
 ‘What is art? It is the response of man's creative
soul to the call of the real’
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

4 5
 PRESENTLY PAST

European artists travelling to India provided the first views of the

country and her people to their patrons back home. As such, they
accepted only prominent commissions and painted subjects that were
exotic enough to appeal to an elite audience. It fell upon subaltern
artists based in the interiors and in cantonments to document ordinary
people, their life, plants, birds, trees and animals, giving rise to a
canon of art practice that came to be known as Company Paintings.

The ushering in of Western techniques resulted in training in art

schools that included copying the Ajanta frescoes, as well as a rejection
of academic realism in favour of Asian practices recalling Chinese
and Japanese techniques, laying the foundation for a new style of
oriental art defined by the Bengal School—often described as the
first foothold of Indian modernism.

6 The Wonder of India Presently Past 7


COMPANY PAINTING
Untitled (Musicians)
Watercolour on paper, c. 1822
8.7 x 7.2 in. / 22.1 x 18.3 cm.
COMPANY PAINTING
COMPANY PAINTING COMPANY PAINTING
Untitled (A Man Accompanied
Untitled (Acrobats) Untitled (A Purdah Palanquin) by his Hookah Bearer)
Watercolour on paper, c. 1822 Watercolour on paper, c. 1822 Watercolour on paper, c. 1822
8.7 x 7.2 in. / 22.1 x 18.3 cm. 8.5 x 7.0 in. / 21.6 x 17.8 cm. 8.5 x 7.0 in. / 21.6 x 17.8 cm.

8 The Wonder of India Presently Past 9

COMPANY PAINTING COMPANY PAINTING COMPANY PAINTING COMPANY PAINTING

Botanical Study India, Calcutta Botanical Study India, Calcutta

Botanical Study India, Calcutta Watercolour on paper, c. 1810 Botanical Study India, Calcutta Watercolour on paper, c. 1810
Watercolour on paper, c. 1810 20.5 x 14.2 in. / 52.1 x 36.1 cm. Watercolour on paper, c. 1810 20.5 x 14.0 in. / 52.1 x 35.6 cm.
20.7 x 14.2 in. / 52.6 x 36.1 cm. Verso: Label with inscription and date in English 20.0 x 14.0 in. / 50.8 x 35.6 cm. Verso: Label with inscription and date in English

10 The Wonder of India Presently Past 11

 P. T. REDDY
1915-96
ASIT KUMAR HALDAR
1890-1964 Queen at Rest
Oil on paper pasted on Masonite board, 1955
A Scene from the Omar Khayam Series 34.0 x 41.5 in. / 86.4 x 105.4 cm.
Watercolour and graphite highlighted with Signed and dated in English (lower right)
gold pigment on paper, 1951-52 ‘P. T. Reddy / 1955’
18.0 x 12.5 in. / 45.7 x 31.7 cm. Verso: Titled, signed, dated and inscribed in
Artist’s seal in Bengali (lower centre) ‘Asit’ English

12 The Wonder of India Presently Past 13

 FOLK MEETS MODERN

Folk artists were quick to absorb Western techniques that suited their
requirements, none more so than the patua or scroll artists in Calcutta
who painted sacred images of gods and goddesses for pilgrims to take
back home from the city’s popular Kalighat temple. An element of
shading became an important attribute of their art. In turn, they went
on to inspire generations of artists among whom Jamini Roy became
popular for his ability to marry the Kalighat pat with a minimalistic
modernism, thereby creating a fresh, new vocabulary, earning him
the pedigree of a National Treasure artist.

Folk art went on to inspire modernists around the country, particularly

when recalling or subscribing to mythological elements in their work,
such as J. Sultan Ali whose paintings are exhibited here, Madhvi
Parekh for inventing a language of playful naivety, and Rabin Mondal
for drawing inspiration from primitive tribal art.

14 The Wonder of India Folk meets Modern 15

 ANONYMOUS
ANONYMOUS ANONYMOUS (Kalighat Pat) ANONYMOUS
(Kalighat Pat) (Kalighat Pat) (Kalighat Pat)
Kartikeya
Balaram-Krishna Ram and Sita Enthroned Watercolour highlighted with silver pigment Krishna & Radha
Watercolour highlighted with silver pigment Watercolour highlighted with silver pigment on paper, late 19th century Watercolour highlighted with silver pigment
on paper, late 19th century on paper, late 19th century 20.5 x 11.7 in. / 52.1 x 29.7 cm. on paper, late 19th century
20.5 x 11.7 in. / 52.1 x 29.7 cm. 20.5 x 11.7 in. / 52.1 x 29.7 cm. Inscription in French (lower right) ‘Kartikeya 20.5 x 11.7 in. / 52.1 x 29.7 cm.
Title in English (lower left and lower right) Inscription in English (lower right) ….(indecipherable)…. dieu de la guerre - fils de Inscription in English (lower right) ‘Krishna…
‘Balaram-Krishna’ ‘Ramachandra and Sita’ Siva et de Parvati’ (indecipherable)’

16 The Wonder of India Folk meets Modern 17

 After his move from post-impressionism towards an indigenous visual vocabulary, Jamini Roy began
JAMINI ROY to explore myth and religious iconography in what became his signature style that assimilated the folk
1887-1972 with an emerging modernism. His subjects were simple in terms of their visual vocabulary but were
steeped in cultural nuances.
Untitled (Last Supper)
Tempera on card Roy’s depiction of Madonna and Christ were based on humanitarian values and the simple appeal of
5.7 x 23.0 in. / 14.5 x 58.4 cm. their message of sacrifice and love. This unusual depiction of Christ and his apostles has the stenciled
Signed in Bengali (lower right) ‘Jamini Roy’ symmetry of folk art. In the manner of the patua artists, he has flattened out the depth, using primary
colours and an equalisation of planes.

18 The Wonder of India Folk meets Modern 19

 JAMINI ROY
JAMINI ROY 1887-1972
1887-1972
Untitled
Untitled (King and Queen in Carriage) Gouache on woven bamboo
Tempera on card laid on board 22.0 x 14.0 in. / 55.9 x 35.6 cm.
21.0 x 34.0 in. / 53.3 x 86.4 cm. Signed in Bengali (lower right) ‘Jamini Roy’
Signed in Bengali (lower right) ‘Jamini Roy’ Verso: Inscription in Bengali and English

20 The Wonder of India Folk meets Modern 21

J. SULTAN ALI
1920-90

Adivasi Bhumimata
Acrylic and gouache on paper, 1982
18.0 x 20.0 in. / 45.7 x 50.8 cm.
Signed in Hindi and signed and dated in
English (lower right) Ali / Sultan Ali / 82’
Verso: Inscription, artist’s name, title and date
in English’

22 The Wonder of India Folk meets Modern 23

 RABIN MONDAL
RABIN MONDAL 1929-2019
1929-2019
Deity
Journey Towards Border Watercolour, gouache and ink on paper, 1973
Oil on canvas, 1980-81 16.2 x 14.0 in. / 41.1 x 35.6 cm.
42.0 x 43.0 in. / 106.7 x 109.2 cm. Signed in Bengali and dated in English
Signed in English (upper left) ‘Rabin’ (centre right) ‘Rabin / Oct. ’73’
Verso: Titled, inscribed and dated in English Verso: Titled and dated in English

24 The Wonder of India Folk meets Modern 25

 A MODERNIST’S DISCOVERY

The modernists, like their predecessors, were invested in narratives

of the land and its people—with one exception. Theirs was now an
India seen through Indian eyes. Landscapes and portraiture had
become incorporated into a new style of practice that, while diverse in
its range, attempted to portray her people as they were: a mirror that
reflected society, warts and all. These were trained artists who had
gone beyond the domain of academic realism to make allowance for
emerging Western trends and tropes that ranged from impressionism
and expressionism to cubism as seen through an Indian lens.

Art centres were no longer restricted to a few cities, and artists moved
beyond collectives to traverse individual paths resulting in distinctive
identities. The one quality common to Indian modernism was a
rootedness to the soil.

26 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 27

EARLY VIEWS OF INDIA

EARLY VIEWS OF INDIA

The Station of Cherrapunji from the North, The
Plains of Sylhet in the Distance
Watercolour on paper, c. 1847-1853 Scene from Northern India
13.5 x 19.0 in. / 34.3 x 48.3 cm. Watercolour on paper
Verso: Label with title and date in English 13.5 x 19.0 in. / 34.3 x 48.3 cm.

28 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 29

 D. P. ROY CHOWDHURY
1899-1975

Untitled
Watercolour wash on cardboard, c. 1964
14.2 x 9.2 in. / 36.1 x 23.4 cm.
Signed in Bengali (lower centre) ‘Sri Debi
Prasad Roy Chowdhury’

below
PROSANTO ROY
1908-73

Pleasure Boat
Watercolour wash on paper, 1931
6.5 x 12.5 in. / 16.5 x 31.7 cm.
Signed and dated in Bengali with artist’s
seal (lower right) ‘Prosanto / 20.11.31’
Verso: Titled and dated in English;
inscribed and signed in Bengali

NIKHIL BISWAS
1930-66

Untitled (Benares)
Gouache on paper
22.0 x 17.2 in. / 55.9 x 43.7 cm.
Signed and dated indistinctly in English
(lower right) ‘Nikhil / (indecipherable)’

30 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 31

SATISH SINHA
1893-1965 ARUN BOSE
1934-2007
Nude
Oil on cardboard, 1939 Farmer
19.5 x 14.5 in. / 49.5 x 36.8 cm. Oil on board, 1960
Signed and dated in English (upper right) 36.0 x 24.0 in. / 91.4 x 61.0 cm.
‘Satish Sinha / 1939’ Signed and dated in English (lower left) ‘arun
Verso: Label with artist’s name, title and BOSE / 1960’
inscription in English Verso: Titled, signed and inscribed in English

32 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 33

PARITOSH SEN BIREN DE
1918-2008 1926-2011

Untitled (Portrait Cubist de Femme a la Cruche) The Musician I

Oil on canvas, 1952 Oil on canvas, 1957
25.5 x 19.7 in. / 64.8 x 50.0 cm. 30.0 x 21.5 in. / 76.2 x 54.6 cm.
Signed and dated in English (upper right) Signed and dated in English (upper left)
‘P. SEN / 52’ ‘Biren De / 57’

34 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 35

 BALRAJ KHANNA
b. 1940

Untitled
Oil on fabric, 1975
40.0 x 71.5 in. / 101.6 x 181.6 cm.
Signed and dated in English
(lower left) ‘Balraj Khanna / 75’

36 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 37

 BIKASH BHATTACHARJEE
B. PRABHA 1940-2006
1933-2001
Mr. P. Dass M. A.
Untitled Oil on canvas, 1978
Bronze 24.0 x 18.0 in. / 61.0 x 45.7 cm.
15.2 x 12.0 x 10.5 in. / 38.6 x 30.5 x 26.7 cm. Signed and dated in English (lower left)
Signed in Hindi (reverse) ‘B. Prabha’ ‘Bikash / 78’
Verso: Title, artist’s name and inscription
in English

38 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 39

HIMMAT SHAH
b. 1933 HIMMAT SHAH
b. 1933
Untitled (Head)
Painted terracotta and metal, 1986 Untitled
15.0 x 7.5 x 8.5 in. / 38.1 x 18.2 x 21.5 cm. Painted terracotta, 1995-96
Signed in English and Gujarati and dated in 12.0 x 10.0 x 6.2 in. / 30.5 x 25.4 x 15.7 cm.
English (base) ‘HIMMAT SHAH / Signed in English
HIMMAT / 86’

40 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 41


M. F. HUSAIN
1913-2011
Untitled (Seated Nude)
Ink on tissue laid on paper
14.5 x 9.2 in. / 36.8 x 23.4 cm.
Signed in Hindi and Urdu and inscribed in
English (upper right) ‘Husain / III’
42
M. F. HUSAIN
1913-2011
M. F. HUSAIN
1913-2011
Untitled (Nude Figure with Creature)
Ink on tissue laid on paper
Untitled (Figures with a Triangle)
15.5 x 10.7 in. / 39.4 x 27.2 cm.
Ink on tissue laid on paper
Signed in Hindi and Urdu and inscribed
15.2 x 9.5 in. / 38.6 x 24.1 cm.
in English (upper right) ‘Husain / VI’
Signed in Hindi and Urdu and inscribed in
English (lower right) ‘Husain / VII’
The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 43
PARITOSH SEN
1918-2008
Untitled (Isabelle in Black Dress)
Acrylic on canvas, 1982
56.0 x 53.0 in. / 142.2 x 134.6 cm.
Signed and dated in English (lower right)
‘Paritosh Sen / 82’
Paritosh Sen’s Isabelle series was a depiction of
race riots and violence in America. Beautiful,
remote and forever lost in thought, and placed
under some sort of house arrest, Isabelle is the
classic unattainable female figure, spinning and
dismissing a thousand mythologies springing
around her.

44 The Wonder of India A Modernist’s Discovery 45

 READING THE ABSTRACT

The 1960s, in India, saw the emergence of a robust abstract movement

that moved away from distortions in figurative art towards a new
direction that obliterated all that appeared familiar. Colour became
dominant and American colour-field artists became a source of
inspiration over their earlier European counterparts. Influences were
often found in their own backyards, and artists moved freely between
memory and experience to create artworks in which the clues to their
interpretation were often closely bound with their own lives.

This gave rise to a new art movement based on tantra’s traditional

precepts of symbols, thereby creating a language of abstraction
borrowed from the past as a uniquely Indian response to the genre.
It freed up the artists from the necessity of ritual symbolism while
allowing them to explore the tenets of a language with deep roots
in India.

46 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 47

 AMBADAS
AMBADAS 1922-2012
1922-2012

Untitled Untitled
Oil on canvas, 1970 Oil on canvas, 1969
36.0 x 60.0 in. / 91.4 x 152.4 cm. 50.2 x 17.2 in./ 127.5 x 43.7 cm.
Signed in Marathi and dated in English Signed and dated in Marathi (lower centre)
(lower right) ‘Ambadas / 1970’ ‘Ambadas / 1969’

48 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 49

 facing page SHANTI DAVE
SHANTI DAVE b. 1931
b. 1931
Untitled
Untitled Oil on canvas, 1962
Oil and encaustic on canvas, 1971 36.2 x 26.0 in. / 91.9 x 66.0 cm.
69.0 x 35.5 in. / 175.3 x 90.2 cm. Signed and dated in English (upper right)
Signed and dated in English (centre left) ‘Shanti Dave / 62’
‘Shanti Dave / 71’ Verso: Artist’s name and date in English

50 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 51

AVINASH CHANDRA AVINASH CHANDRA
1931-91 1931-91

Mysterious Forces A Moon Shot

Ink and waterproof ink on paper, 1963 Ink and waterproof ink on paper, 1965
29.0 x 21.2 in. / 73.7 x 53.8 cm. 21.5 x 29.5 in. / 54.6 x 74.9 cm.
Signed am dated in English (lower right) Signed and dated in English (lower centre)
‘Avinash / 63’ ‘Avinash / 65’

52 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 53

NATVAR BHAVSAR NATVAR BHAVSAR NATVAR BHAVSAR
b. 1934 b. 1934 b. 1934

NANDAA 1 NANDAA VII MRIGYAA

Dry pigments with acrylic mediums on paper,
2000
7.0 x 7.0 in. / 17.8 x 17.8 cm.
Signed and dated in English (lower right)
‘NATAVR BHAVSAR / 2000’
Dry pigments with acrylic mediums on paper, Dry pigments with oil and acrylic mediums
2001 on canvas, 1990
7.0 x 7.0 in. / 17.8 x 17.8 cm. 78.5 x 57.5 in. / 199.4 x 146.1 cm.
Signed and dated in English (lower right) Verso: Signed, dated, inscribed and titled in
‘NATAVR BHAVSAR / 2001’ English

54 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 55

 SANKHO CHAUDHURI
1935-2006

Untitled
Bronze on wooden base, 1990s
15.7 x 6.0 x 1.5 in. / 39.9 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm.

‘His sculpture portraits…show us his search for a

concept. They are more a product of the artist’s
subjective assessment of the character than a
faithful representation of its physiognomy’
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, 1971

56 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 57

L. MUNUSWAMY S. G. VASUDEV
1927-2020 b. 1941

Untitled (Animal Series) Fantasy No. 3

Oil on canvas, 1962 Oil on canvas, 1971
49.7 x 48.0 in. / 126.2 x 121.9 cm. 24.0 x 23.0 in. / 61.0 x 58.4 cm.
Signed and dated in English (lower right) Signed and dated in English (lower right)
‘L Munuswamy / 62’ ‘Vasudev / 71’

58 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 59

G. R. SANTOSH
1929-97

Shattering Thought
Oil and mixed media on canvas, 1962
43.5 x 33.7 in. / 110.5 x 85.6 cm.
Signed in Hindi and dated in English (upper
left) ‘Santosh / 62’
Verso: Titled, signed and dated in English and
signed in Hindi

Painted just two years before G. R. Santosh’s tantric epiphany, this painting is at a great stylistic difference
from his neo-tantra art. Shattered Thought shows the cubist influence as in his earlier work; it also
portrays an unsettled mind, and Santosh as the seeker that he remained through his career. The zigzag
of the lines, the uneven use of the canvas, the yellow, the brown and black all portray the questioning
that he was experiencing with his study of Shaivite philosophy. His landscapes of the period are a
reflection of the Himalayan fastnesses, but here he seems to be applying the same forbidding quality
to the terrain of the mind.

60 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 61

 GANESH HALOI
b. 1936
RAJENDRA DHAWAN
1936-2012 Untitled
Gouache, watercolour and acrylic on
Untitled handmade paper, 1992
Oil on canvas 16.5 x 19.0 in. / 41.9 x 48.3 cm.
35.2 x 45.5 in. / 89.4 x 115.6 cm. Signed in Bengali (lower right) ‘Ganesh Haloi’

62 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 63

JERAM PATEL JERAM PATEL
1930-2016 1930-2016

Untitled Untitled
Oil and enamel on canvas, 1969 Acrylic on canvas, 1996
32.7 x 38.5 in. / 83.1 x 97.8 cm. 27.0 x 36.0 in. / 68.6 x 91.4 cm.
Verso: Signed and dated in English Signed and dated in English (lower right)
‘JERAM PATEL / 69’ ‘JERAM PATEL / 96’

64 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 65

BIMAL DASGUPTA BIMAL DASGUPTA
1917-95 1917-95

Painting 13 / Composition Painting 15

Oil on canvas, 1964 Oil on canvas, 1966
39.0 x 24.0 in. / 99.1 x 61.0 cm. 39.2 x 23.7 in. / 99.6 x 60.2 cm.
Signed and dated in English (lower right) Signed and dated in English (lower right)
‘B. Dasgupta / 64’ ‘B. Dasgupta / 66’
Verso: Title and inscription in English Verso: Title and inscription in English
(on stretcher) (on stretcher)

66 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 67

KRISHNA REDDY
1925-2018

Two Forms in One

Viscosity on paper, 1954
Print size: 15.2 x 12.0 in. / 38.6 x 30.5 cm. KRISHNA REDDY
Paper size: 16.2 x 12.5 in. / 41.1 x 31.8 cm. 1925-2018
On print: Inscribed in French and English
(lower left) Imp. par lʻartiste 6/10ʼ, titled in Untitled
English (lower centre) ʻ“Two Forms in Oneˮʼ and Viscosity on paper
signed in English (lower right) 13.5 x 20.0 in. / 34.3 x 50.8 cm.
ʻN. Krishna Reddyʼ Inscribed in English (lower left) ʻ26/100ʼ and
Verso: Inscription with title, date, incription and signed in English (lower right)
artist's name in English ʻN Krishna Reddyʼ
Edition 6 of 10 Verso: Label with artist's biography in English

68 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 69

P. T. REDDY V. VISWANADHAN
1915-96 b. 1940

A Drawing Room Untitled

Oil on canvas, 1968 Mixed media on paper, 1972
28.0 x 33.0 in. / 71.1 x 83.8 cm. 20.0 x 25.7 in. / 50.8 x 65.3 cm.
Verso: Titled, dated, signed and inscribed Signed and dated in English (lower right)
in English ‘Viswanadhan V / 72’

70 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 71

G. R. SANTOSH
1929-97

Untitled (Tantra)
Acrylic on canvas, 1976
50.0 x 39.7 in. / 127.0 x 100.8 cm.
Verso: Signed in English and Hindi and dated
in English

‘Santosh’s work seeks out the modern and the

universal in a specific religious tradition of the
subcontinent. Much like modernists in Europe and
elsewhere who turned to the art and philosophies
of cultures outside their own, Santosh too turned
to a source outside of his own experience and
family history’
REBECCA M. BROWN

72 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 73

SUNIL DAS SUNIL DAS
1939-2015 1939-2015

Untitled (Erotic Drawing VIII) Untitled (Erotic Drawing VII)

Ink and marker on graph paper pasted on Ink and marker on paper, 1993
mount board, 1995 17.5 x 13.7 in. / 44.5 x 34.8 cm.
21.0 x 14.5 in. / 53.3 x 36.8 cm. Signed and dated in English (upper right)
Signed dated and inscribed in English (lower ‘Sunil / 93’ and signed and dated in English
right) ‘Sunil / 95 / Guwahati / Ninteen [sic.] (lower left) ‘Sunil / 1993’; inscribed variously
Ninety Five; inscribed in English (lower left) in English

74 The Wonder of India Reading the Abstract 75

 LIFE REAL AND SURREAL

An important aspect of modernism in India was the ability to borrow

emerging expressions from the West and apply them to the unique
culture in which the artists were rooted. This ranged from life (and
lifestyles) in cosmopolitan cities that slowly gave way to a lampooning
of its ingenues. Magic realism reflected the artists’ ability to tell different
stories within the same composition unmindful of time and space.

The fractured picture plane, the line—now bold, now absent—the

distortion of the familiar, became tools for artists to playfully manoeuvre
their compositions, often delivering double entendres beyond the
merely aesthetic. This was an artistic device that allowed artists to
deliver societal indictments while being mindful of their art.

76 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 77

NIKHIL BISWAS
1930-66

Untitled
Gouache on paper, 1952
17.2 x 13.2 n. / 43.7 x 33.5 cm.
Signed in English (lower left) ‘Nikhil’ and
dated in English (lower right) ‘1952’

Nikhil Biswas’s works have a distinct unsettling quality about them. Be it in the much-used black, or
through bright colours, as here, his art rejected laws of perspective, almost always depicting turmoil.
The format and scheme of his compositions was full of the sense of movement and force, though his
subjects were very different. The figures here, animals and humans, are a dynamic presence on a busy
turf. The horses, particularly, represent the age-old philosophical struggle of the unruly mind.

78 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 79

 SHYAMAL DUTTA RAY
PROKASH KARMAKAR 1934-2005
1933-2014
Praying for Rain
Untitled Watercolour and ink on paper, 2004
Oil on board, 1980s 19.0 x 26.0 in. / 48.3 x 66.0 cm.
10.5 x 8.7 in. / 26.7 x 22.1 cm. Signed and dated in Bengali (lower centre)
Signed in Hindi (lower left) ‘Pra’ ‘Shyamal Dutta Ray / 04’

80 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 81

PRODOSH DAS GUPTA
1912-91

Suryamukhi SANAT KAR

Bronze on wooden pedestal, 1978 b. 1935
28.0 x 37.5 x 28.0 in. / 71.1 x 95.2 x 71.1 cm.
Signed, dated and inscribed in English (base) Untitled
‘P. Das Gupta / 1978 / 5/5’ Oil on canvas, 1960
Edition 5 of 5 34.0 x 23.0 in. / 86.4 x 58.4 cm.

82 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 83

top
M. SURIYAMOORTHY above
1944-2012 M. SURIYAMOORTHY SAKTI BURMAN
1944-2012 b. 1935
Untitled (Two Kings)
Oil on canvas, 1966 Untitled Untitled
34.0 x 48.0 in. / 86.4 x 121.9 cm. Oil on canvas, c. 1960s Ink and waterproof ink on paper
Dated in English and signed in Tamil (lower 34.0 x 48.0 in. / 86.4 x 121.9 cm. 19.7 x 25.5 in. / 50.0 x 64.8 cm.
right) ‘2/6/66 / Suriyamoorthy’ Dated and signed indistinctly in English Signed in English (lower centre) ‘SAKTI
Verso: Signed, dated and inscribed in English (lower left) BURMAN’

84 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 85

SUNIL MADHAV SEN
1910-79
K. S. KULKARNI
Untitled (Gossip) 1916-94
Gouache on paper pasted on
mount board, early 1960s Girl Looking in The Mirror
26.5 x 15.2 in. / 67.3 x 38.6 cm. Acrylic on board
Signed in English (lower right) ‘Sunil Madhav Sen’ 42.0 x 41.7 in. / 106.7 x 105.9 cm.
Verso: Signed in English Signed in English (lower left) ‘K. S. Kulkarni’

86 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 87

CHITTAPROSAD CHITTAPROSAD
1915-78 1915-78

Untitled Untitled
Ink on scraper board Ink on scraper board
8.0 x 8.7 in. / 20.3 x 22.1 cm. 7.7 x 7.0 in. / 19.6 x 17.8 cm.

88 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 89

 ‘The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds’
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

90 The Wonder of India Life Real and Surreal 91

ABOUT DAG
NEW DELHI
India’s most respected art company began
its journey not as an art gallery but as an
art institution right from its very inception,
choosing to build up a formidable inventory
of works by Indian artists from the nineteenth
century onwards. In acquiring artists’ studios
and estates, it paid homage to their legacy
and created a large pool of twentieth century
artists and artworks that, taken together,
tell the story of Indian art through iconic
exhibitions curated to provide art historical
overviews and document India’s tryst with
modernism.
In the almost three decades since DAG’s
foundation, the Indian art world has seen
far-reaching changes in which the company
92 The Wonder of India: Explorations Through 19th and 20th Century Art
has played a stellar role. Its pathbreaking
exhibitions have brought to the fore important
artists neglected through the passage of time.
It has documented critical art movements
and collectives. New generations of art lovers
have been able to reclaim the inheritance of
forgotten masters thanks largely to support
from DAG through curations at its galleries
as well as participation in international art
fairs and support to biennales and other
art-related events and collaborations. These
include critical alliances with museums and
cultural institutions in India and abroad.
At the heart of DAG’s programming is an
ongoing research curriculum responsible for
lending support to art writers and curators,
NEW YORK
a rigorous publishing calendar with an
impressive library of books that document
Indian art history, workshops to engage the
public—particularly school children and the
specially-abled—in art-related workshops,
commissioning of videos and films in relation
to artists and their work, and engagements
with artists, critics and the art community at
large. DAG’s contribution to the understanding
and dissemination of Indian art remains
without parallel.
In January 2019, India’s first public–private
collaboration in the arts space began with the
inauguration of DAG’s Drishyakala art museum
in the precincts of Red Fort, New Delhi—a
UNESCO world heritage monument—in
About DAG
partnership with the Archaeological Survey of
India. Rated as one of the finest art spaces in
India by the media, its galleries have multiple
exhibitions of national significance along
with films, archival material, and facilities
that include a library and children’s activity
areas. A year later, in 2020, DAG’s Ghare-
Baire museum of 18th-20th century Bengal
art, in collaboration with ASI at its restored
Old Currency Building, has become one of
Kolkata’s leading art and culture centres
with multiple exhibition galleries.
93
 The Wonder of

INDIA
Explorations Through
1 9th and 20th Century Art

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FRONT COVER
Himmat Shah, Untitled (Head),
Painted terracotta and metal, 1986

94 95
www.dagworld.com