Buying Luxury: Buying Guides, News & Auctions

F.N. Souza: The eternal rebel

Like a blithe child colouring on the walls despite protests, nothing deterred F.N. Souza (b. 1924) from asserting his art. His art, whose first impact is to shock, elicits a childlike element of uninhibited honesty with no filter, unafraid, and almost oblivious to those offended. His unrestrained and thought-provoking body of work makes one wonder about the power of art and its hold over the human psyche. Broad and bold lines jump out of the canvas attacking with speed, deeming him an eternal rebel.

Navigating NFTs in art

Let us discuss NFTs in the context of art. Why art? When people talk about NFTs, everybody talks about flipping it the next day. The same goes for the physical art space; people wish to buy art and then flip it. It’s actually not that easy buying art from a traditional auction house, you’d be down 35 % on day one. It is not necessarily an investment vehicle; of course, there is a lot of money to be made but if you approach it purely from an investment angle, you might make mistakes.

Inside S.H. Raza's last studio

A meditative quality fills the senses as one steps into Raza's creative sanctuary in Delhi. Walls of art adorn each corridor, doorway, and room, giving one a glimpse inside the artist's mind. The leitmotif of Bindu in Raza's art looks out from all his canvases. While old photographs and a typewriter tell stories from another time. This studio is an exhibition of Raza's intimate world as an artist and a dreamer.

Unearthing Bhanu Athaiya's artistic achievements

Bhanu Athaiya was the first woman artist to receive a gold medal from the J.J. School of Art for her work 'Lady in Repose', which was the first-ever abstract painting to be made by a member of the Progressive Artists' Group . This work which she addressed as Lying Lady in one of her handwritten letters along with The Nuns was painted as a part of her study at J.J. where Vasudeo S. Gaitonde was her mentor. In 1952, Gaitonde created the artwork 'Painting No.1' displayed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Unearthing Bhanu Athaiya's artistic achievements

Lalitha Lajmi's notes on Guru Dutt and her childhood

Lalitha Lajmi an Indian painter recalls her childhood days and memories with late filmmaker and brother Guru Dutt in these handwritten notes. These notes give us an insight into the influences that led her to nurture her passion for art and cinema. Read on to know more.

Lalitha Lajmi's notes on Guru Dutt and her childhood

A letter from Ebrahim Alkazi to Gobardhan Ash

Ebrahim Alkazi and his wife Roshen Padamsee were significantly responsible for promoting many members of the Progressive Artists' Group not only in India but also at an international level. Apart from Alzaki; Mulkraj Anand, Walter Langhammer, Emmanuel Schlesinger, Rudi Von Leyden, and Kekoo Gandhy were also active as collectors.

A letter from Ebrahim Alkazi to Gobardhan Ash

My tryst with the Calcutta Group by Gobardhan Ash

Sometime in the middle of December, in 1949, I met Prodosh Dasgupta, Prankrishna Pal, and Rathin Mitra at the Calcutta Photo Society at 157B, Dharamtolla Street. Prodosh happened to be a previous acquaintance. The other two gentlemen, however, I met for the first time. “Why, we’ve been looking for you. There’s something we would like to discuss,” they said.

My tryst with the Calcutta Group by Gobardhan Ash

Decoding Gobardhan Ash's Avatars

Ash’s experiments in art from the 1950s are characterised as avatars; primitive artworks depicting personality traits. His paintings comprise a technique composed of a scientific arrangement of colour dots, almost pointillist. His works are impeccable character studies. Listed below are Ash's avatars up for auction and an attempt to decode the same with reference to their titles.

The history behind the Young Artists' Union (1931) by Gobardhan Ash

[The present article by the veteran artist Gobardhan Ash, stands testament to two of the pioneering ventures, in recent years, at creating a cumulative creative space for young artists of this country ━ both of which he had been a part of. Mr. Ash was subsequently involved with the Calcutta Group as well.]

The history behind the Young Artists' Union (1931) by Gobardhan Ash

The history behind the Art Rebel Centre (1933) by Gobardhan Ash

Art Rebel Centre, founded in 1933, was formed and led by Gobardhan Ash, Abani Sen, Annada Dey, and Bhola Chatterjee. Subsequently, some of those invited to submit their work in exhibitions accepted membership. These include Lalit Chandra, Haridas Ganguly, Samar Dey, Amar Dasgupta, Sachin Das, Kalikinkar Ghoshdastidar, Khagen Roy, and Suren Dey, among others. Manoj Bose and Rabi Bose became members too, despite not providing paintings for exhibitions. The following is a brief history of how Art Rebel Centre came to be.

The history behind the Art Rebel Centre (1933) by Gobardhan Ash

Results for "progressive artists group"

F.N. Souza: The eternal rebel

Navigating NFTs in art

Inside S.H. Raza's last studio

Unearthing Bhanu Athaiya's artistic achievements

Lalitha Lajmi's notes on Guru Dutt and her childhood

A letter from Ebrahim Alkazi to Gobardhan Ash

My tryst with the Calcutta Group by Gobardhan Ash

Decoding Gobardhan Ash's Avatars

The history behind the Young Artists' Union (1931) by Gobardhan Ash

The history behind the Art Rebel Centre (1933) by Gobardhan Ash