Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces and Museum Quality Series | October 2004

157 THE MASTERPIECES & MUSEUM-QUALITY SERIES 113 prokash KARMAKAR [b . 1933, Calcutta, West Bengal] The Cat on a Cool Silken Bed S/d in Devanagari l.c. Oil on canvas, 1982 137.0 x 111.5 cm (53.9 x 43.9 in) Rs. 300,000 – 400,000 $ 6,500 – 8,650 £ 3,550 – 4,725 ‘His (Prokash) lines are thin or thick depending on the mood to be conveyed. He makes effective use of colour – black for an engrossing darkness or red to indicate blood-spilling as for instance when he depicts strife… He has his own symbolism. He prefers to depict a part like an eye to signify a man. Or, he makes use of green instead of a tree, because a complete depiction would disturb or destroy the overall conception.’ – Ajit Kumar Dutta, rpt. in LKC 17 April 1974; p22. 114 Jogen ChoWDhURY [b . 1939, Faridpur, present-day Bangladesh] As Mice are, so are Birds Induro jaha pakhio taha (As mice are, so are birds) inscribed on l.c. Initialled in Bengali l.l.; Dated in Bengali l.c., l.r.; Titled in Bengali l.l. Ink & pastel on paper, 1988 56.0 x 56.5 cm (22.0 x 22.2 in) Rs. 600,000 – 700,000 $ 12,950 – 15,100 £ 7,100 – 8,275 ‘’In Jogen’s Ganesa series of paintings, we see one of the most innocuous deities in the pantheon of Hindu gods transformed into a devastatingly obscene creature. His body despite its corpulence, seems to be slowly decomposing. The limbs droop, wrinkled and flaccid. He exudes a prurience which is totally in contrast to the benevolent nature generally associated with this deity … – Deepak Ananth, rpt. in India : Myth & Reality . Oxford: Museum of Modern Art 1982; p59.