Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Antiquities Modern Contemporary Fine Arts and Books | April 2017

56 Laxman Pai b.1926 Moonlight Oil on canvas, 1963 Signed in Devanagari ‘Laxman Pai’ l.l S/d in English ‘Laxman Pai 63’ l.l. & on verso Titled in English ‘Moonlight’ on verso 31.9 x 17.7 in (81.0 x 45.0 cm) Provenance Private Mumbai-based Collector; previuosly acquired from the Artist Family Collection by Delhi Art Gallery in 2003 INR 400,000 – 600,000 USD 5,970 – 8,960 ‘A dream-like fluidity was intensified in the metamorphic forms of Laxman by swaying branches and leaves merging with female forms, at times almost floating across the background. Large curves of foliage, land, sea and clouds engulf the females. His paintings are marked by romantic, extravagant details, with free-flowing lines that lend a peculiar beauty and picturesque charm to the visions of his fantasy.’ – Pran Nath Mago rpt. in Contemporary Art In India: A Perspective National Book Trust 2000; p112. ‘Pai has ever abided by the perennial source of his inspiration – man and nature.... His response to his surroundings, to the thrills of life and experience, has been immediate and intense... Pai has a mind which soars high in the realm of fancy... His women appear in their pristine form, the womanly attributes become symbolical and are reduced to elemental motifs, like fruits, flowers and foliage. This concept, Purusha and Prakriti, corresponds to the conventional Indian idea of man and nature.’ – S.A. Krishnan, rpt. in Laxman Pai. LKA 1971. Indian Antiquities Modern Contemporary Fine Arts & Books | 121