Lot 3
  • 3

Sayed Haider Raza

Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
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Description

  • Sayed Haider Raza
  • Untitled (Princess Street, Bombay)
  • Signed and dated 'S. H. Raza / 45' lower right
  • Watercolour on paper laid on cardboard
  • 31 x 35.6 cm. (12 ⅛ x 14 in.)
  • Painted in 1945

Provenance

Acquired from an English estate circa 2014. The painting had been with the previous owner for over 35 years.

Condition

There is wear along all the edges with associated losses. Water marks are visible in the lower left corner which are possibly inherent.This painting is framed behind glass and in good overall condition, 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

‘Eventually he ceased to limit himself to pure nature, his interest passing to city and village life, has found himself moved by the Indian scene so full of sunshine and colorful costume, so crammed with the interest of old architecture. In the brilliance and special quality of the sunlight of central India he found peculiar delight – it pervades his pictures’. ('Vision in Art (6) S.H. Raza', A review of a solo show, 1950 in A. Vajpeyi, A Life in Art: Raza, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, 2007, p. 50)

These watercolors are archetypal examples of some of Sayed Haider Raza’s earliest works and provide a rare glimpse into the beginnings of his artistic practice. In the mid-1940s, Raza moved from Nagpur to Bombay, where he studied at the Sir J.J. School of Art and painted mostly in watercolours and gouaches, the preferred medium of art schools at the time. His subjects were landscapes and street scenes captured in a variety of moods, defined by a shifting interplay of light and colour.

Raza has recalled that this time was a 'sort of awakening, a realization of the real values involved in painting…in Bombay I realized that a painter should know his language as a writer should know the vocabulary…a painter should know what color is; he should know the organization of colors, their values, and how to render a theme on paper, or on canvas.' (A. Vajpeyi, Passion: Life and Art of Raza, Rajkamal Books, New Delhi, 2005, p. 41) During this time, with the support of western expatriates such as Rudy von Leyden and Walter Langhammer, Raza discovered and developed the principal artistic stimuli that echo throughout his career, the land and the nature around him.  These works were painted during his time in Bombay; while the application of loose, gestural brushwork, fluid shapes, and the play of light depict impressionistic overtures, the use of  vibrant colors evoking vivid reactions exhibit his leanings towards expressionism.

Lot 3 is most likely a view of Princess Street, Bombay and Lot 4 is probably a view of Kalbadevi, Bombay.