Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Modern Fine Arts | June 2017

37 V.S. Gaitonde (1924 – 2001) Untitled Oil on canvas, 1962 S/d ‘V.S. Gaitonde 1962’ on verso S/d in Devanagari ‘Gaitonde 62’ on verso 40.0 x 67.0 in (101.6 x 170.2 cm) Provenance Formerly from the Collection of eminent Art Scholar & Critic Dr. Charles Fabri (1899-1968) & noted museologist Ratna Fabri (d.1972). Thereafter directly gifted in 1971 by Ratna Fabri to her sister Prathibha, along with a few other items and textiles, after herself being awarded the Padma Shri. Thereafter by descent to Pratibha’s son. Illustrative Reference Please Refer to Note on page 92 & references on page 94. INR 60,000,000 – 100,000,000 USD 937,500 – 1,562,500 Full double-spread image on pp.90-91 verso Funaoka trademark on the verso of the canvas. The canvas used for Lot 37 by Gaitonde is a Hiromasa Funaoka Canvas made in Japan, one of the world’s finest pre-primed canvas. By using polyvinyl acetate it mitigates the expansion and contraction of the canvas with changes in humidity compared to hide glue sizing, which is a major reason for the brilliant condition of the present canvas. Normally, given the economic constraints facing the Indian artists and also a lack of technical focus by many of them, most old canvases (post 1930s) have suffered significant crackling & cracking of oil painting on stretched canvas. Gaitonde was aware of Funaoka’s top quality after his Tokyo visit in 1957 and most of the 1962 canvases used this brand, which very few ever documented. The knowledge and extra care about using many layers of paint, and knowing the composition of oil in later layers compared to earlier ones was essential, given the shrinkage in oil over the ages. Hence the proportion of oil earlier should be less than later layers as more oil implies more shrinkage and naturally less shrinkage is preferred on earlier layers than later ones. This technical understanding is also one of the best ways to identify fakes and the authenticity of early Gaitonde canvases, something which no writer has really highlighted in all these years. Important Note on the Canvas Support Indian Modern Fine Arts | 93