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Lot 13

 

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Philip Lyon Roussel was the son of an English army officer. Born in London on 17 October 1923, Roussel was sent to boarding school at the age of three after his parents divorced. When he was sixteen, he cycled from Sussex, England to Perthshire in Scotland to meet his mother, but his step- father banned the visit. Roussel enlisted in the army in 1941, and was sent to northern India. His career included being promoted to Major, reading English at... Philip Lyon Roussel was the son of an English army officer. Born in London on 17 October 1923, Roussel was sent to boarding school at the age of three after his parents divorced. When he was sixteen, he cycled from Sussex, England to Perthshire in Scotland to meet his mother, but his step- father banned the visit. Roussel enlisted in the army in 1941, and was sent to northern India. His career included being promoted to Major, reading English at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, going to Sudan as a district commissioner, and spying on communist sympathisers for the British Security Service, before completely shifting gears and enrolling at the Chelsea Art School. There, he met Elisabeth Mary Bennett, whom he would marry later.

Roussel continued to be deeply involved with India since his first army posting in the 1940s. In 1960, he and Elisabeth returned to India, where their daughter Tanya was born. Roussel spent seven years in the country heading the British Council's offices in Bombay and New Delhi, and cultivated a friendship with Indian artists from whom he bought paintings and sculptures. He purchased the present lot from Husain while in Bombay.

Roussel made important contributions to the art world throughout his career and wherever he was posted. In 1972, Sir Edward Heath, the then prime minister of the United Kingdom, appointed him to co-ordinate Europalia, a massive art festival that was to showcase the best of British culture to the rest of Europe. This was when the UK had gained entry into the European Economic Council, now the European Union. The festival was a success and saw Roussel's appointment as OBE. Spurred by this success, in 1976, he convinced John Carter Brown, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, to hold an exhibition on British country houses. Roussel's remarkable career continued to flourish as he became Controller of Arts three years later, and oversaw the British Council's literary and artistic events. Post retirement, he dabbled in painting and sculpture.

The present lot depicts the figure of a woman seated on a tiger. A possible allusion to Durga seated on her mount, Husain often drew from Indian mythology to create images layered with symbolism. The half moon is a recurring symbol in his work. Husain uses a muted palette of earth tones and thick layers of paint to create a composition dominated by the ferocious tiger.

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