Osian's Auction Catalogue Forty Masterpieces | March 2003

“ Deviprasad was an expert in painting such supernatural settings. Scratching his paintings with a blade or a pen- knife or with the butt-end of the sable brush, he would manage to bring out an impression full of musical harmony, as it were. They were sublime. He had adopted various techniques of his own after a good deal of trial and error to achieve the desired effect. He had used Chinese technique in many of his renderings; fine short strokes of brush had been applied to attain the effect of Chinese calligraphy whenever he sketched bamboo clusters, human figures or feathered birds…The Chinese technique, the Japanese wash process and his own scratching method, all mixed up, were instrumental in arriving at a significant culmination that pleased the eyes and the mind…To be precise, with the rare gift of a sense of proportion and controlled emotion he had produced a unique style based on his wide knowledge of diverse art of different nations, and they were all superb aesthetically. These were chiaroscuros in effect, and revealed a world of feeling and emotion transcending our familiar phenomenal universe.” (Prasanta Daw, in Art & Aesthetics of Deviprasad . Calcutta: ISOA 1998; p5.) Night Signed in Bengali, t.r. Watercolour & wash on paper, late 1950s 47.2 x 29.5 cm [18.6 x 11.6 in] Condition Slight preservation and restoration work will be required on the painting after the auction Provenance Private collector, Kolkata Rs. 300,000 – 400,000 $ 6,300 – 8,300 £ 3,800 – 5,000 _ 5,800 – 7,700 58 59 17 DEBI PROSAD ROY CHOWDHURY [1899-1975/ b.Tajhat, Rangpur, present-day Bangladesh] Os.Mum/ 19.10.2001 Lot 37 Portrait Watercolour & wash on paper, ca.1928 28.0 x 18.6 cm HT.Mum/ 15.11.1997 Lot 24 Famine Watercolour & wash on paper, ca.1947 37.0 x 49.0 cm HT.ND/ 28.11.1999 Lot 177 The Crane Watercolour, ink & wash on paper, early 1960s 51.0 x 30.0 cm