Osian's Auction Catalogue Masterpieces and Museum-Quality III | March 2004

138 OSIAN’S 64 G.R. SANTOSH (1929-97 / b. Srinagar, Kashmir) Kashmir S/d in Devanagiri l.l. & inscribed on verso Oil on canvas, 1959 86.5 x 137.9 cm (34.1 x 54.3 in) Rs. 300,000 – 400,000 US$ 6,650 – 8,900 GB£ 3,650 – 4,900 OSIANs S.I.R. ANALYSIS [1992–2003] Present Estimate 162.02 Previous High 303.74 [So.NY/12.06.95] Previous Average 71.86 Auction Average 289.84 “ Santosh’s paintings of this period featured the human figure with their characteristic oval or round heads and occasional traces of cubism in the shapes and thrusts… Soon, however, the figure became barely suggestive and attenuated, finally disappearing altogether. Landscapes, which had been a backdrop to the figures, became prominent and in course of time pushed the figure once and for all…The conical forms which we perceive in Santosh’s paintings can be traced to Kashmir... The blues, the greys, the browns - all of which tend to the pure whiteness of the Himalayan ranges…” (S. A. Krishnan in ‘A painter of Kashmir’, rpt. in LKC. No. 34, 1987 ; p.75.) Opinion Given the reaction against the neo-tantric inspired artists in the 1990s, the prices of artists such as G.R. Santosh, Biren De, K.C.S. Paniker and a few others suffered. Now as a re-examination of their artistic significance gains credence, a clear resurgence will be evident especially with the less exposed earlier periods before the tantric philosophies came to dominate their artistic expression.