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Memories of Mitali and my Jethu - Rathindranath Tagore

My earliest memories are swathed in the scent of mountain pines and a constant leitmotif of a rattling train that would carry me back to our home in Dehradun named Mitali on Rajpur Road – my magical El Dorado – where I spent my childhood with my mother, Meera ma, my maternal grandmother, Lal dida, and my Jethu and foster father, Rathindranath (Tagore).

Memories of Mitali and my Jethu - Rathindranath Tagore

Penti menti : Embracing mistakes

A pentimento (plural pentimenti) is an alteration in a painting which is evidenced by traces of previous work. The alteration shows that the artist changed their mind during the process of making the work.

Shyam Sunder Lal's- Cawnpore

The freedom struggle in India saw a lot of posters made by Indians to unite the masses to oppose the British Raj. These posters or prints were often considered to be seditious material and were confiscated by the British.

Subhas Chandra Bose - Azad Hind Fauj

The end of World War II resulted in a turning point in history for India. It brought about a revolutionary change with multiple mutinies and a sense of political independence. The Indian National Army was formed in 1942 which was formed by Indian nationalist Rash Behari Bose. It was meant to help secure independence from the British Raj.

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi took roughly 40 years to be compiled and spans from 1884 to 1948 when Gandhi was assassinated. The collection includes Gandhi’s writings, letters, essays, notes, and interviews. The collection goes into great detail over 100 volumes about the time when Indian was under British rule and was fighting for independence.

Gandhi’s Harijan Sevak: 1953 - 1954

The Harijan Movement was launched by the Congress leadership in 1932 in accordance to their socio-religious approach to the Dalit caste problem in India. Gandhi was against the use of this movement as a means to strengthen the political activities of Congress and felt like the issue was meant to be dealt with a different strategy.

Insights: Man Ray & Raghu Rai

Man Ray was born Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 27th August 1890. Not only was he one of the most crucial figures in the radical Dadaist and Surrealist movements, but his subject matter even included the monumental figures of Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and Salvador Dali.

Four Indian Modernist Sculptures

At Prinseps' Modern and Contemporary Art Sale on November 17th, we find immense joy in presenting, from the late modern era, four exquisite works by four master craftsmen: Akbar Padamsee, Dhanraj Bhagat, Sankho Chaudhuri, and Amarnath Sehgal.

Vasudeo S. Gaitonde - A Tapestry

Gaitonde grew up in Nagpur, Maharashtra, and studied at the J. J. School of Art. In 1947, he was invited to join the Progressive Artists’ Group and went on to become one of its original members. He worked with various mediums and used a roller and palette knives to create his layered texture, which later became his signature style.

Flowers & Perspective - K H Ara

Born in 1914 K. H. Ara, a founder member of the Progressive Artists’ Group, evolved his trademark style, through nudes and still-life paintings. At first, he preferred to make still lifes for commission due to his financial status. He was a modernist for whom the form and language of art preceded all other social and political motivations. This evolved a certain eclecticism which led him in an exploration of his own style unlike other members of PAG.

Somnath Hore: Form & Figuration

Somnath Hore was born in 1921 in Chittagong studied at the Government College of Art in Calcutta. He witnessed the chain of devastation left by the Japanese bombing raid on Chittagong which was followed by a man made famine in 1943. Such suffering deeply impacted Hore and led him to outpour in sketches and poster drawing, which documented the devastation.

1920's Jorasanko Zamindari Library

Here we have a particularly rare collection -- an entire library from a Jorasanko Palace. The Estate of its provenance has been documented as the most successful private enterprise in British India in the mid-19th century (Somerset Playne, Bengal and Assam, Behar and Orissa, 1917).

Two rare works by N.S. Bendre

Born in 1910 in Indore, N. S. Bendre trained at the State Art School in Indore in 1929. Bendre’s early works can be described as Impressionist and academic in style. He is well known for founding the Baroda Group of artists in 1956 as well as founding the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi.

Raja Deen Dayal - Nizam's Hyderabad

Born in 1844 in Sardhana near Meerut, Lala Deen Dayal was educated at Thompson’s Civil Engineering College in Roorkee. Deen Dayal’s interest in photography started when he caught the eye of Sir Henry Daly.

Bikash Bhattacharjee's Early Work

Bikash Bhattacharjee was born in Kolkata in 1940 and graduated from the Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship, Kolkata in 1963. His works were inspired by his early childhood and environment.

Francis Newton Souza's 1961 Pope

Francis Newton Souza was born in 1924 in Saligao, Goa. He was expelled for participating in the Quit India Movement while studying at the Sir J J School of Art in Mumbai. In 1947, he founded the Progressive Artists' Group along with S H Raza, M F Husain, and K H Ara, among others. Souza's style created thought-provoking and powerful images.

Early Abstraction in Indian Art

Abstract art or non objective art is a painting or sculpture that does not depict a person, place, or any other figure. With abstract art, the subject of the work is what you see: color, shapes, brushstrokes, size, scale, or just the process.

Prabhakar Kolte : Abstract Painter

Prabhakar Kolte was born in 1946 in Nerur Par, Maharashtra. He completed his diploma from the Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai in 1968. He also taught there from 1972 to 1994.

G R Santosh : Early abstract works

Santosh began his career painting landscapes at home in Kashmir before being spotted by S. H. Raza, who encouraged him to study at the Maharaja Sayajirao University at Baroda under N. S. Bendre. He started painting figurative and abstract works before he completely switched to tantra inspired works in 1964.

M V Dhurandhar : The female muse

Born in 1867 in Kolhapur, Dhurandhar was a master of watercolor. One of the most popular Indian artists, he was inspired to be an artist after he saw Raja Ravi Varma’s works of art. He studied at Sir JJ School of Art in Bombay and was an expert in the western academic style of painting. Although his subject matter was Indian in character, his works had the style of realism that western artists of that time had.