Calcutta Group
In 1943, erstwhile Calcutta bore the brunt of a
terrible famine that ravaged Bengal. The famine,
which killed millions, was said to have been
triggered by the wrong policies of the ruling
British Government. This unprecedented
devastation steered several artists into looking
a new at their visual language.
A group of young artists decided to reject the
lyricism and the romanticism seen in the work of
earlier Bengali artists. Six among them formed
the Calcutta Group. The founder members were
sculptors Pradosh Dasgupta, his wife Kamala,
painters Gopal Ghosh, Nirode Majumdar, Paritosh
Sen and Subho Tagore. Others like Pran Krishna
Pal, Govardhan Ash and Bansi Chandragupta joined
later.
This group of artists expressed the need for a
visual language that could reflect the crisis of
urban society. For the first time in modern
Indian art, artists began to paint images that
evoked anguish and trauma and reflected the
urban situation. Rural scenes were no longer
purely idyllic, and the formal treatment of the
paintings began to reflect the influence of
European modernism.
Progressive Artists Group, Bombay
By 1947, restless stirrings among the artists in
Bombay led to the formation of the Progressive
Artists’ Group (PAG). The members who joined the
group were Francis Newton Souza, Maqbool Fida
Husain, Syed Haider Raza, Krishna Hawlaji Ara,
Hari Amba Das Gade and S. Bakre, a sculptor.
Besides these founder members others too
inclined with the group in their choice of
aesthetic values and approach to visual
language. Engagement with pure form became their
creed. The artists close to the PAG were Akbar
Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta, Bal Chhabda, Vasudeo S
Gaitonde, Ram Kumar and Krishna Khanna. The NGMA
has several paintings by most of these artists
representing significant phases of their
artistic development. Other artists of this
period to have stretched the idioms were Narayan
Shridhar Bendre and Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar.
Young Turks
Beside the Calcutta Group, there was another
group called the Young Turks, among whom P. T.
Reddy was the prominent member. The Young Turks
encouraged by Charles Gerrard, principal of Sir
J.J. School of Art held their first exhibition
in 1941. Then there were Bhabesh Sanyal and
Sailoz Mukherjee, who left Calcutta. The first
went to Lahore and the second came to Delhi in
search of employment. These artists find
prominent place in the NGMA collection.
H A Gade
Houses, Tempera on paper, 66.5 X 51.5 cm
N S Bendre
The Thorn, Oil on board, 119.3 X 168 cm
Satish Gujral
Despair, Oil on hardboard, 91 X 91 cm
Ram Kumar
Town, Oil on canvas, 119 X 90 cm
Paritosh Sen
Siesta, Oil, 121.3 X 90.5 cm
KK Hebbar
Marriage Ceremony, Oil on canvas, 74.9 X 100.5 cm
Sailoz Mukherjea
Mother and Child, Oil, 66 X 67 cm
Akbar Padamsee
Orange Nude, Oil on board, 71.9 X 71.2 cm
Gopal Ghosh
Village near Mussoorie, Tempera on paper, 60 X 49 cm
Nirode Majumdar
Neta’s Ghat, Oil on canvas, 88 X 116.5 cm
P T Reddy
Bird, Oil on canvas, 89.5 X 115.5 cm
Krishen Khanna
Black Truck, Oil on canvas, 171 X 122 cm
Tyeb Mehta
Falling Figure, Oil on canvas, 77 X 104.8 cm
F N Souza
Weeping King, Oil on canvas, 50 X 80.5 cm
Bhabesh Sanyal
Old Man and the Bird, Oil on canvas, 129.6 X 129.6 cm
K H Ara
Still Life, Oil on paper, 74 X 109 cm
M F Husain
Mother Teresa, Oil on canvas, 233X128 cm
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