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INDIAN ARTISTS OF YESTERYEAR 11 - 17 June 2012

www.nuga‐arthouse.com

Indian Artists of

Yesteryear

11 - 17 June 2012

Contents

4 About NuGa Arthouse

5 Directors’ Note

7 Kanu Desai

13 Somalal Shah

17 Shantilal Shah

21 Hiralal Khatri

25 R D Raval

29 R M Raval

About NuGa Arthouse

NuGa Arthouse is the new stroke of colour on an old canvas ‐ established both in the UK and India in April 2011. We are an art consultancy that strives to exhibit interesting works of art from the Indian subcontinent and believe that such art should be accessible to all. Not only do we exhibit works from private collections and established artists, but we also promote and recognise upcoming artists. We aim to provide an international platform for works of art that will be appreciated and valued by collectors around the world. Our wonderful pieces of art are easily accessible through our exhibitions and on our website. We hold some very interesting collections of works that include paintings by the Indian Masters and limited edition prints. Works are also sourced from private collections in India and overseas, and we have an exciting selection of works by emerging Indian artists. All our art works undergo a screening and verification process by experts in order to ensure that each piece of art work is genuine. For further information about NuGa Arthouse, its exhibitions, collections and services please contact Nupur Ganguly or Gargi Yadav at info@nuga‐arthouse.com.

Directors’ Note

With great pleasure, we bring to London a wonderful collection of rare works by prominent Indian artists, primarily from Gujarat, who have had a profound impact in shaping Indian art history.

The works in the exhibition have been collated over the last year with considerable care and thought. Having spent much time in Gujarat over the last 12 months we were fortunate enough to come across these excellent works that were kept in private collections across the State. These beautiful works had not been exhibited in many years, and never outside of India. We were excited at the prospect of exhibiting them in the UK, where art lovers would certainly appreciate the opportunity to view these interesting and varied works.

We wanted to bring forth a dynamic group of artists, who hailed from Gujarat, and went on to impact the Indian artistic movement during the 1900’s. India has a rich art history, but much of what is documented mainly focused on the famed Bengal school, the Progressive group and the great Modern artists on India. Though their contribution was immense, their fame did overshadow the lesser‐known, yet significant members of India’s art fraternity, namely the artists of Gujarat. Hence, this exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to give these talented artists of yesteryear an international platform on which their works can be appreciated.

All these artists were trained in well‐known art colleges throughout India and each went on to create a niche of their own. The artists represented in this exhibition have a unique style and skill. Their craft is as individual as their ideas.

We hope that this exhibition will give you a flavour of the wonderful works that have been produced in India by well‐respected Indian artists of yesteryear. Indian history and the artists own story lives on in these powerful works. It is a privilege for us to bring this collection from India to the UK, particularly to the Bhavan, a centre of Indian culture, knowledge and education.

1907 - 1980

Kanu Desai is considered to be one of Gujarat's pioneering artists with a penchant for drawings that can be best described as pure 'Lyrical Linearity'. Desai was interested in art from an early age and sought the guidance of Ravishankar Raval in 1922. He soon proved to be one of Raval’s brightest pupils and in 1925 he was sent to Shantiniketan to learn under Nandalal Bose. Kanu Desai was greatly influenced by masters such as Tagore and Nandalal Bose, taking a keen interest in painting, sculpture as well as plaster casting. These skills led him to be one of Hindi cinema's most prolific and talented art directors. In the 1930’s Desai began working on a style of silhouette or shadow paintings executed entirely in black and white. These silhouette paintings appear to be his most significant works. Desai’s silhouette paintings are unique in that they do not have the graphic element to them. Many Indian art historians believe that Desai’s silhouette paintings were influenced by cinema, both for there realism and classic beauty. From a historical standpoint Desai's art is significant in that the boundaries between high and low art were for the first time blurred. His drawings were produced as romantic albums with titles such as Jeevan Mangal and Nritya Manjari and gifted at weddings during the 1940’s. Critically, there are many contemporary Indian works that follow the lineage of Desai's oeuvre.

K a n u D e s a i

Untitled Signed in Hindi lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 15.6 x 10.6 in (39.7 x 26.8 cm)



Untitled Signed in Hindi lower left Watercolour and ink on paper 15.5 x 11.9 in (39.4 x 30.1 cm)


Untitled Signed in Hindi lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 15.4 x 11.8 in (39 x 30 cm)



Untitled Signed in Hindi lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 11.3 x 9.4 in (28.7 x 24 cm)



Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 17.9 x 15 in (45.5 x 38.2 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 17.9 x 15 in (45.5 x 38.2 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 17.9 x 15.1 in (45.5 x 38.4 cm)

Untitled Signed in Hindi lower left Watercolour on paper 13.6 x 15.1 in (34.6 x 38.4 cm)

Untitled Signed in Hindi lower right Watercolour on paper 15.5 x 15.5 in (39.3 x 39.3 cm)

Untitled Signed in Hindi lower right Watercolour on paper 13.9 x 13.9 in (35.3 x 35.3 cm)

Untitled Signed in Hindi middle right Watercolour on paper 13.8 x 16.6 in (35.1 x 42.1 cm)

Untitled Signed in Hindi upper right Watercolour and ink on paper 2.2 x 4.8 in (5.7 x 12.2 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati middle right Watercolour and ink on paper 17.8 x 15 in (45.3 x 38.2 cm)

Shakuntla Viday Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 14.5 x 33.1 in (36.8 x 84 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 15.2 x 17.9 in (38.5 x 45.5 cm)

Untitled Signed in Hindi lower right Watercolour and ink on paper 12 x 10 in (30.5 x 25.4 cm)


Somalal Shah arrived in Ahmedabad in 1924 where he attended college and art classes with Ravishankar Raval and on his advice he joined the J.J School of Art, Mumbai in 1925. Even though Shah had trained in naturalistic art he was attracted to the wash style of the Bengal School and decided to leave Mumbai after one year to further train in this technique. His ultimate aim was to study in Shantiniketan, but finally studied at the Indian Society of Oriental Art in Calcutta, under the guidance of Kashitindranth Mazumdar.

Somalal brought the common man into his work with such an authenticity that his paintings have already become documents of history on how people lived in that era. After his death, the last of the original practitioners of the wash method in colour paintings has gone. However, he has left behind a rich line of disciples who include Khodidas Parmar, Pradyumna Dave, Natu Parikh, and Urmi Parikh.

1905 - 1994

S o m a l a l S h a h

Untitled Signed in Gujarati upper right

Watercolour on paper 18.4 x 13.7 in (46.8 x 34.8 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati upper right Watercolour on paper 24 x 19.6 in (61 x 49.8 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati upper right Watercolour on paper 17.7 x 13.5 in (45 x 34.3 cm)

For more than 60 years, Somalal Shah produced superb watercolours and sketches and enriched them with the bright colours of his native Gujarat. He recorded the life of the people living in the Saurashtra village influenced by the landscape and colourful costumes and had the ability to bring to life ordinary scenes and characters such as birds, animals, people and their surroundings.

Hiralal Khatri was a self‐taught artist as well as a textile merchant who came to fame for his ability to depict into his portraits and compositions the emotions felt by his subjects.

Hiralal mostly painted portraits in oils. Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were primarily his subjects and he portrayed their strong personalities in his paintings.

Soon, Hiralal’s paintings took on a religious and spiritual nature. Through form and colour of fantasy he painted religious characters in which there was always a feeling of light.

Hiralal exhibited his works in the UK, US and around India and his most valued collections can be found at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential House) in New Delhi and at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad.

In his later stages of life, Hiralal turned tutor and spent time recognising artistic talents of new artists and taught them skills to improve their talent.

1906 - 1991

H i r a l a l K h a t r i

Untitled Signed in English lower right Watercolour on paper 20.7 x 16.5 in (52.6 x 41.9 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right

Watercolour on paper 19.7 x 14.2 in (50 x 36.1 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Mixed media on paper 21.3 x 16.3 in (54 x 41.4 cm)

Untitled Signed in English lower right

Watercolour on paper 18.9 x 10.6 in (48 x 26.9 cm)

Untitled Signed in English lower right Oil on canvas 27.6 x 18.7 in (70.1 x 47.5 cm)

Untitled Signed in English lower right Mixed media on paper 20 x 14 in (50.8 x 35.6 cm)

Untitled Signed in English lower right Watercolour on paper 22.6 x 18 in (57.5 x 45.7 cm)

Shantilal Shah was born in Ahmedabad and studied at the Madras school of Art in Chennai. He then went on to study at the Munich Art Academy and the Royal Academy of Amsterdam during 1959‐1960. Shah’s specialism lay in portrait painting and mosaic murals. His portraits were very realistic, with incredible attention to detail. Some of his best works were done in prison during the Indian independence struggle and were mainly portraits of various political figures, most popular of whom was Mahatma Gandhi. In his later years Shantilal Shah was much more influenced by European art and focused more on forms and went on to do a series of nude paintings.

1922 - 1993

S h a n t i l a l S h a h

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour on paper 13 x 16.7 in (33.1 x 42.4 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour on paper 19.7 x 15.4 in (50 x 39.1 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour on paper 22.8 x 17 in (57.8 x 43.2 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Oil on board 17.9 x 13.6 in (45.4 x 34.5 cm)

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right

Oil on board 17.8 x 13.5 in (45.3 x 34.3 cm)

Ravishankar M Raval, a multi‐talented individual, was a painter, art teacher, art critic, journalist and essayist from Gujarat. He was considered to be the greatest Indian artist known in the North‐West part of India, who was given the respected title of ‘Kalaguru’ (meaning a ‘Grand Master of Art’, in Sanskrit).

He made a remarkable effort of establishing the status of art in Gujarat. Besides being a well‐known artist, Raval produced a completely new cadre of accomplished young artists, such as Kanu Desai, Somalal Shah, Jagan Mehta, and Trigunatit Pancholi to name a few.

Raval continued painting through the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and in 1970, he was named a Fellow of the Indian Art Academy.

1892 - 1979

R M R a v a l

Although his formal art training took place under the principal Cecil S. Burns of the J.J. School of Arts, he developed his own elaborate style, which was inspired by the ancient Indian classical painting traditions.

Raval was greatly influenced by Raja Ravi Varma and is noted to be the only Gurajati artist who used the naturalistic techniques of Raja Ravi Varma in their own works. Raval also toured East Asia, and like many of his contemporaries he learnt the ‘wash’ technique. His works thereafter became an amalgamation of Far East wash technique and the linear lines of the Ajanta. His themes were mainly taken from classic and romantic literature.

Untitled Signed in Gujarati lower right Watercolour on paper 10.4 x 11.5 in (26.5 x 21.5 cm)

Rasik Durgashankar Raval was born in 1928 in Saurashtra, Gujarat and spent his childhood in the small town of Sabarkantha. Raval received his Diploma in Fine Art from the prestigious J.J. School of Art and was a recipient of the J.J. School of Art Scholarship in Mural Painting.

Growing up in the midst of old traditions and culture, it influenced his work and Raval began to paint using vibrant colours in the background and delineating the forms in white with sure and lyrical brush strokes. The fisherwomen, tribal dancers, fruit sellers, birds and animals represent the directness and passion of the cave painters of Bhimbetka or the Warli painters of Maharasthra.

He has been a winner of several important awards such as the National Award from the Lalit Kala Academy in 1955; later in 1957 the Academy of Fine Arts Award of Calcutta; and the Bombay Art Society Award in 1952. He was also a member of the senate of the SNDT University in Mumbai.

1928 - 1980

R D R a v a l

Raval’s paintings are best known for the graceful lines, which capture tall lean figures almost like paper cut‐outs. Though simple and direct his figures are stylized in a primi‐tive manner. Raval exhibited his works mainly in India, though in 1967 he had his first international solo exhibition at the Couturier Gallery in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

Untitled Signed in English middle right Watercolour on paper 20.9 x 16.9 in (53.1 x 42.9 cm)

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