Page 272 - Historic-Masterpieces-Dec24

Lot No. 128
K H ARA

1914-1985

UNTITLED
47 x 35 in (119.4 x 89 cm)
Oil on canvas
Circa 1970
Signed: Bottom Right

` 40,00,000 - 50,00,000 | $ 49,383 - 61,728

Exhibited: At the Artists’ Centre, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, among
other exhibitions in the city

Provenance: Property from a collection based in Mumbai.
Artwork was acquired by the present owner directly from the artist

Artist K H Ara rose from the depths
of adversity to achieve great success
ushered in by his exceptional artistic
merit. His journey, both in life and art,
tells an extraordinary tale of unwavering
passion and dedication. A prolific figure
in the history of Modern Indian Art, K H
Ara contributed immensely to the birth
of modernism in India. He was also one of
the founding members of the Progressive
Artists’ Group in 1947, along with F N
Souza. During his later years, he devoted
himself to the Artists’ Centre in Bombay
and inspired the next generation of
artists. He won the prestigious Governor’s
Award in 1944 and a Gold Medal from the
Bombay Arts Society in 1952.

Even though he was hailed as one of
the first Indian painters to meticulously
explore the female form, Ara brought
with him a spontaneity to still life and
landscapes that was independent of
the tenets of academic painting. He
adopted a European style and calibrated
it with his Indian roots and aesthetics. The artist with the presented
Characterised by fluid strokes, his work lot on display at the Artists’
exhibits an aura of simplistic comfort. Centre, Mumbai