Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Modern and Contemporary Art | January 2008

63 39 A.R. Chughtai (1897 - 1975) The Golconda Harem Signed in Urdu ‘Chughtai’ t.l. Watercolour on paper, late 1940s 26.4 x 19.3 in (67.0 x 49.0 cm) Provenance Stamp of the Chughtai Museum Trust, Lahore, Pakistan and Authentication note by the Artist’s son INR 3,200,000 – 4,000,000 USD 80,000 – 100,000 Many very fine works of the artist, Abdul Rehman Chughtai, have come up for public auction sale during the past ten years. A small selection of such works depicting the different relationship between two is illustrated besides for reference. 38 A.R. Chughtai (1897 - 1975) The Young Poet S/d in Urdu ‘Chughtai Lahore 1290’ l.l. Line wash and watercolour on paper, c .1920 11.8 x 9.1 in (30.0 x 23.0 cm) INR 3,200,000 – 4,000,000 USD 80,000 – 100,000 Literary Reference “The artist has given this picture a hothouse quality. Owing to the truly anaemic and lustre-lack face of the poet,a world of morbidity (in which the shadowy lady plays a prominent part) is created. With his thin nose and the growth of the hair at the nape of his neck, he looks a poet, but living in a world of imagery and dreams, has himself become unreal. His eyes seem to look beyond what they see, making us concentrate on his thouoghts rather than on his appearance. Observe the triple colouring with the strip of mauve in the turban and the cuffs; it has a crystal like purity. “ Razia Siraj-ud- Din, rpt. in Chughtai’s Paintings . Lahore: Jahangir Book Club, 1935. Illustrative Reference Illustration of the same titled work, though two versions were completed for most of the paintings, including the Young Poet by A.R. Chughtai. Ibid , plate 22.