Important Notice

Born in Baroda in 1920, Sadanand Bakre was a founding member of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, which included F N Souza, S H Raza, M F Husain, K H Ara, and H A Gade. He received his training in sculpture at the J J School of Art in Bombay, where Charles Gerrard, the head of the institution at the time, introduced him to modernism. Bakre’s exposure to European and American modernist masters was facilitated by influential figures such as... Born in Baroda in 1920, Sadanand Bakre was a founding member of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, which included F N Souza, S H Raza, M F Husain, K H Ara, and H A Gade. He received his training in sculpture at the J J School of Art in Bombay, where Charles Gerrard, the head of the institution at the time, introduced him to modernism. Bakre’s exposure to European and American modernist masters was facilitated by influential figures such as Rudy von Leyden, Emmanuel Schlesinger, and Wayne Hartwell. His connection with the Progressive Artists’ Group, which aimed to redefine Indian art within an international framework, greatly influenced his artistic trajectory. He was an active participant in the group’s early exhibitions and developed a distinctive style by the late 1940s, characterised by “free-flowing form and unconventional shapes.” (Yashodhara Dalmia, “The View from the Wings”, The Making of Modern Indian Art, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 190-191)

Bakre only began painting seriously after moving to London in 1950. In England, he often showcased his artwork at Hyde Park to support himself. Despite his background in academic realism, Bakre, like many of his contemporaries, embraced abstraction. He remarked, “I am traditionally trained and perfectly capable of accomplishing completely realistic work. But my interest in forms has gone far beyond the dull imitations of subject matter, which to me is almost unimportant.” (S K Bakre, “All Art is Either Good or Bad”, Free Press Bulletin, 24 March, 1965) The present lot, characterised by strong, bold lines, demonstrates Bakre’s skill as both a draughtsman and a colourist, reflecting Gerrard’s advice to him: “Make a sharp line. Whatever line you make, make it masterly, give it life.” (Dalmia, p. 189) The angular, geometric forms in his work were likely influenced by the Vorticists, who were known for their anti-realist approach and their depiction of the human figure and its surroundings in a jagged, rhythmic, and linear style verging on total abstraction. Members of the Vorticist group captured the energy and dynamism of modern life through taut, expressive forms that favoured the angular over the curved, the hard over the soft, and the precise over the undefined. (Dalmia, p. 195)

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site