138-139 / 184
138
139
The present lot is a bust of prominent
Brahmo Samaj community member, social
activist, and artist Nirmal Sengupta. He was
a published author, served as sub‒editor at
the All India Radio, and spoke Arabic and
Chinese. Sengupta published literature that
was considered seditious by the government
in the pre‒Independence years, for which he
was imprisoned. When World War II began,
he served as a captain in the Indian army, and
was assigned to negotiate the surrender of a
group of Japanese armed forces in Southeast
Asia. Sengupta later became a civil servant and
following retirement, engaged in social causes.
His most significant legacy is the founding of
the
Dhan‒Khet Vidyalay
(Paddyfield School) for
underprivileged children in Nalgora Haat, south
of Kolkata.
The present lot is a sensitive depiction of
Sengupta by artist Meera Mukherjee, who
was closely acquainted with him and his work.
The artist and the subject are both important
historical figures in the cultural life of Bengal.
In 1978, they were both part of the Kasauli Art
Centre Artist Workshop. Sengupta provided
significant assistance toMukherjee in compiling
reports for her book,
Metal Craftsmen of India
,
published the same year. This sculpture of
Sengupta, crafted with Mukherjee’s trademark
dedication to emotion and technique, captures
her respect for Sengupta’s selfless and generous
nature.
Meera Mukherjee and Nirmal Sengupta at the Kasauli Art Centre Artist Workshop, 1978
© Vivan Sundaram
Image courtesy of Asia Art Archives
68
MEERA MUKHERJEE
(1923 ‒ 1998)
Untitled
Bronze
Height: 15.25 in (39 cm)
Width: 18 in (46 cm)
Depth:10.75 in (27 cm)
Rs 30,00,000 ‒ 40,00,000
$ 47,620 ‒ 63,495
The work has been mounted on a wooden base of size H: 3 in (8 cm)
x W: 19 in (48.5 cm) x D: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Kolkata
Acquired from the above
Saffronart, Mumbai, 15 February 2014, lot 75
Newspaper article titled "Sculptures with the Soul of Indianness," 9 August 1991,
referring to a show at Gorky Sadan, Kolkata, held to mark Meera Mukherjee’s 75
th
birth anniversary. The present lot was included in this show which highlighted
rare works in addition to archival photographs of Mukherjee’s life and art practice.