Ismail Gulgee (1926 - 2007)

Acquired directly from the artist in the 1960's, when Gulgee was the artist in residence at Radcliffe College

In good condition, minor scattered surface dirt, colors more saturated in reality.
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The current, large-scale work is an excellent example of Gulgee's vivid abstract oil and gold leaf style, highlighting the artist's sensitive treatment of color and affinity for mixing precious stone in his palette.

"Gulgee received his first exposure to abstract expressionism in 1960 through an exhibition in Karachi of American painter Elaine Hamilton. Gulgee adapted the energy and gesture of action painting to a Pakistani context, using virtuoso brushwork to produce large, free-flowing calligraphic abstractions that captured the mystical dance of Sufi dervishes.

"Though Gulgee had a high public profile across the Muslim world, with works in numerous private and state collections, he exhibited infrequently at home, citing a lack of proper exhibition venues for his large-scale work. In 2000, the artist inaugurated the Ismail Gulgee Museum near his home in Karachi, Pakistan," (News/Passings, ArtAsiaPacific, Vol. 57, 2008, p. 81).