Osian's Auction Catalogue The Osianama Series |February 2013

240 1983 “Generally speaking I use drawings as preliminary sketches for my paintings. Drawing of line upon line gradually takes the form of a full statement. It is at this stage that the work reaches the state of a work of art. Before I applied myself to painting, for a few years I devoted myself wholly to drawings, mainly in line and monochrome wash. These helped me clarify my concept of pictorial structure, composition and texture. Subsequently I also became conscious of the characteristic features of my own drawings. I have now come to the conclusion that the character of a drawing manifests itself best in black and white and that the effect of mass or tone should be rendered in lines only. Line is indeed the life of a drawing, because it is a fact that an artist thinks in terms of lines and not words. He can identify his image or theme from a collection of lines. He feels tempted to use colour to make the drawing attractive and to enhance its pictorial and textural qualities. I do sometimes resort to this manner but that is truly the character of the painting not drawing. The quality of line that we can create from the tip of a metal nib surpasses that which is made with the help of any other tool. This is the reason why I prefer to work in pen and ink.” – Ganesh Pyne, rpt. In Chatterjee, Ram [Ed.] [1987]. Indian Drawing Today 1987 . Bombay: Jehangir Art Gallery Publications; p.34] 129 Ganesh Pyne b. 11 June 1937 a. Untitled (D/s) Pen & Ink on paper, 1983 Dated in English ‘28.12.83’ t.r. 8.1 x 5.2 in (20.5 x 13.3 cm) b. Bird Pen & Ink on paper 8.7 x 9.7 in (22.2 x 24.7 cm) c. Untitled Pen & Ink on paper, 1984 8.1 x 6.4 in (20.7 x 16.3 cm) d. Untitled Pen & Ink on paper, 1984 S/d in Bengali ‘Ganesh Pyne 4.3. 84’ l.r. 5.5 x 3.5 in (14.0 x 9.0 cm) Provenance The Prokash Kejriwal Collection ` 300,000 – 600,000 US$ 5,460 – 10,920 GBP 3,750 – 7,500 Lot of 4 a