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

THE MASTERPIECES & MUSEUM-QUALITY SERIES 53 ‘In the works of Narayan Sridhar Bendre, idyllic vignettes of village women, a mother and her child, or peasant life were painted with a lilting lyricism. Drawing from his travels and consequent exposure to European art, his stint at Santiniketan in 1945, and finally his interaction with the Progressive Artists in Bombay, Bendre was to assimilate all this into an idiom that adapted the modernist vocabulary to Indian themes and subjects. His pastoral scenes spoke of a pan-Indian vision located in an idyllic village life, and celebrated a pre-industrial society.’ – Yashodhara Dalmia, rpt. in The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives. New Delhi OUP 2001; p66. 26 N.S. BENDRE [1910-1992/ b .Indore, Madhya Pradesh] Women at Work S/d in Devnagari t.r. Oil on canvas, 1949 49.0 x 38.0 cm (19.3 x 15.0 in) Rs. 600,000 – 700,000 $ 12,950 – 15,100 £ 7,100 – 8,275 ‘Bendre’s cubistic works cannot be classified as analytical or synthetic like the original French developments. But they have a characteristic of their own because it is possible to observe in them an attempt to synthesise the simplicity of human form in Indian miniature paintings with the cubistic structure of receding and protruding planes. In that sense they have a genuine Indian feel about them.’ –Dr. Ratan Parimoo, rpt. in LKC 37 March 1991; p77 27 N.S. BENDRE [1910-1992/ b .Indore, Madhya Pradesh] Adivasi Girl at the Zoo S/d in Devanagari l.r. Oil on canvas, 1961 80.5 x 55.0 cm (31.7 x 21.7 in) Rs. 1,500,000 – 2,000,000 $ 32,400 – 43,200 £ 17,750 – 23,675