Page 267 - Historic-Masterpieces-Dec24

Lot No. 125
SATISH GUJRAL

1925-2020

UNTITLED
36 x 36 in (91.4 x 91.4 cm)
Mixed media on textured canvas
Signed: Top Right

` 30,00,000 - 40,00,000 | $ 37,037 - 49,383

Provenance: Property from a collection based in Mumbai

Satish Gujral was an internationally celebrated artist, muralist, sculptor,
architect, and writer. In his quest to establish a uniquely Indian artistic identity,
free from European influences, Gujral emerged as a key figure in shaping
modernism in post-Independence India.

Born in Jhelum, Punjab, in 1925, Gujral’s early years were steeped in drawing
and Urdu literature, shaped in part by his hearing disability. In 1939, he enrolled
at the Mayo School of Art in Lahore. By 1944, he had joined Sir J J School of
Art in Bombay, where he encountered members of the Progressive Artists’
Group (PAG). However, Gujral distanced himself from the PAG’s interpretation
of modernism, which was heavily influenced by European aesthetics and
techniques. Instead, he pursued a distinctly Indian artistic vision rooted in
indigenous traditions.
In 1952, Gujral received a scholarship to study at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in
Mexico City, where he apprenticed under renowned muralists Diego Rivera and
David Alfaro Siqueiros, key figures in the muralist movement. Their influence
spurred Gujral to create large fresco murals, which were highly sought after in
both India and abroad.
Over the following decades, Gujral exhibited his works worldwide and received
numerous accolades. He was a three-time recipient of the National Award for
painting and sculpture and, in 1999, was conferred the Padma Vibhushan,
India’s second-highest civilian honour. Additionally, the Belgian government
awarded him the ‘Order of the Crown’ in recognition of his design for the Belgian
Embassy in New Delhi, which was later listed by an international jury as one of
1000 outstanding buildings of the 20th century.