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

140 OSIAN’S 65 BHUPEN KHAKHAR (1934-2003 / b. Bombay, Maharashtra) Baroda (Set of 3) Watercolour on paper, 1962 a. Inscribed on verso: Bhupen Khakhar c. Signed in English c.r. a. 21.6 x 28.0 cm (8.5 x 11.0 in) b. 17.5 x 29.2 cm (6.9 x 11.5 in) c. 22.8 x 29.3 cm (9.0 x 11.5 in) Rs. 225,000 – 300,000 US$ 5,000 – 6,650 GB£ 2,750 – 3,650 (Set of 3) OSIANs S.I.R. ANALYSIS [1992–2003] Present Estimate 814.18 Previous High 931.90 [Bow.ND/20.11.02] Opinion Lot 65 represents some of the earliest works by the artist at a very reasonable S.I.R. given the recent price increases. “Bhupen started by admiring the work of Langhammer, a German émigré who painted landscapes in the manner of Kokoschka. He readily switched loyalties in 1958 when he met and befriended Pradumna Tana who was still following in the wake of the Bengal revivalists… Bhupen in turn started to “stylize” his naturalistic landscapes, making them suitably idyllic… By 1960 the influence of Tana had subsided. Bhupen now developed a new, rather remote attachment to Ram Kumar whose landscapes he saw reproduced in The Illustrated Weekly of India . At this time he met Gulam Sheikh who encouraged him, took him by the hand, more or less, and persuaded him to start off seriously by joining the Baroda Faculty of Fine Arts.” (Geeta Kapur, in ‘Bhupen Khakhar - View from the Teashop’, rpt. in Contemporary Indian Artists 1978; pp.153-4.)