Osian's Auction Catalogue Forty Masterpieces | March 2003

Rs. 250,000 – 325,000 $ 5,200 – 6,800 £ 3,100 – 4,100 _ 4,800 – 6,300 Temple Signed in English, l.c. Mixed Media on paper, ca.1958 33.3 x 47.0 cm [13.1 x 18.5 in] Provenance Private Collector, Mumbai 56 57 16 GOPAL GHOSE [1913-80/ b.Calcutta, West Bengal] Refer to Gopal Ghose . New Delhi: LKA 1966 for various illustrations of works in pastel during the mid 1950s. “It is not surprising therefore that Gopal Ghose poses awkward and uncomfortable problems to the modern critic. To brush him aside would be impossible, because of the unique character of his creations. He demands attention by the superb craftsmanship with which every work is executed and the aesthetic heights attained by them. On the other hand, it is difficult to interpret his art in terms of the criteria of modern art criticism… Gopal Ghose has a preference for things that appeal to the senses, and judged from the present day ‘intellectual’ stand, this approach to art is decidedly antiquated. Again, in his art we find the granite quality of classic composition, an interest in the free textures of lines; and in his treatment of colours the delicate control of orchestral music… His quest has been to capture the fleeting mystery of colour that results from the incidence of light on nature. His landscapes are thus not the topographies of particular places, but contemplations of the varying moods of nature.” (Dwijendra Moitra, reprinted ibid ; pp1-3.)