Ram Kumar (b. 1924)

in good condition, colors far richer in reality, the orange less bright and generally more earth tones, as viewed
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Ram Kumar's most recent works reveal semblances of man-made structures that had long disappeared from his canvases. Glimpsed through the sweeping vistas of his landscapes they seem to suggest a fresh perspective to the counterpoint between the city and the 'spiritual' landscape that has preoccupied him throughout his career. Having traversed these opposing poles the artist seems to have reached his journey's end and has accepted these dualities. Such acceptance brings to these later works a more joyous use of color and less self-restrained compositions.

'The city shored up from silt, vulnerable to the river's sullen tides and periodic floods would appear to symbolise the life of the grihasta, the householder trammelled by duties, circumscribed by ritual, susceptible to anxiety. The landscape on the other hand with its drifts of ice and sand, its hills misting into the horizon, suggests the open breadth of the cosmos, where the sanyasin, the renouncer, may wander at will.' (Ranjit Hoskote, Ram Kumar, Recent Works, Saffron and Pundole Art Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, May-July 2002, p. 8).

Paintings such as the present lot evoke a sense of solitude. The artist notes the sojourn between home and world through graceful and lyrical lines with the landscape still predominant. 'Human figures are still absent but there is no longer the need to erase them.' (Alok Bhalla, Introductory essay, The Sea and Other Stories by Ram Kumar, Shimla, 1997, p. xvi). 'Spiritual in Ram Kumar's paintings lies not in painting the 'sacred' but in overcoming the dichotomies and and displacements of the profane, man-made world. It is precisely in this 'overcoming', that Ram Kumar is able to 'look beyond and within.' (Nirmal Verma, Ram Kumar: A Retrospective, NGMA, New Delhi, 1993).