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7
S H RAZA
(1922 ‒ 2016)
Untitled
Signed and dated 'RAZA '68' (lower left)
1968
Oil on board
16 x 16 in (40.7 x 40.7 cm)
$ 28,125 ‒ 34,375
Rs 18,00,000 ‒ 22,00,000
PROVENANCE:
Acquired from Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
Collection of a Prominent Lawyer, New Delhi
Private Collection, New Delhi
During the 1960s, Raza’s frequent visits to India from his
home in France, led him to rediscover the landscapes of
his childhood spent in the forests of Madhya Pradesh. The
tropical colours of his homeland erupted on his canvas
in furious, gestural strokes as seen in the present lot.
“Many works of this phase... could be seen to be depicting
seasons at one level and, at another, exploring the emotive
meaning, the unsuspected sensuousness nature invariably
evokes. They are emotional essays in colour. There was
passionate fury and restless reaching out to catch the
essence of experiences.” (Ashok Vajpeyi ed.,
A Life in Art: S
H Raza
, New Delhi: Art Alive Gallery, 2007, p. 78)
PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN, NEW DELHI
6
S H RAZA
(1922 ‒ 2016)
Untitled (Landscape)
Signed 'S.H.RAZA' (lower right)
Watercolour on paper pasted on board
20.75 x 14 in (53 x 35.7 cm)
$ 18,750 ‒ 28,125
Rs 12,00,000 ‒ 18,00,000
PROVENANCE:
Christie's, New York, 20 March 2013, lot 16
In the early part of his career, like
most of his peers, Raza painted in
the realistic mode. He had moved
to Bombay in 1943 to enrol at the
Sir JJ School of Art, and the sights
and sounds of the city inspired
him. His watercolours from this
decade were often scenes of the
architecture of Bombay and other
cities in India which he visited. The
present lot is most likely, the tower
of the Railway Hospital in Byculla,
now known as the Bharat Ratna Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial
Hospital. Raza captures the details
of the façade with accuracy.
Mastery over light, colour and
perspective is already evident.
The Railway Hospital building, initially conceptualised as Elphinstone
College, 1870.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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