Details

Catalog summary

Ram Kumar Untitled (Benares) Signed, dated and inscribed 'Ram Kumar 82/ 36 x 24' on reverse Oil on canvas 36 by 24 in. (91.5 by 61 cm) Condition Good overall condition. Faint impression along lower left edge, perhaps from a previous frame. Colors lighter and brighter than catalogue illustration, especially the blue accent in the center. 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. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE. Catalogue Note Ram Kumar's visit to the holy city of Benares in the early 1960s proved to be a momentous event in his career. The eternal cycle of life, death, grief and celebration played out in the streets and riverbanks of the city left a deep impact on him causing him to reflect upon the inherent and unchanging dualities of the Universe. Shunning figuration altogether the artist turned inward deploying 'architecture and landscape as metaphors articulating cultural and psychological fragmentation.'(Ranjit Hoskote in Ram Kumar: A Journey Within , New Delhi, 1996, p. 37). Over the course of the decade Ram Kumar's paintings moved towards pure abstraction and by the end of the decade the elements of the landscape itself were reduced to barely recognizable forms juxtaposed in shifting vertical and horizontal planes. The artist developed this vocabulary over the next two decades painting majestic landscapes imbued with a grand scale as seen in the present work from the early 1980s. These works represented a, '...decisive leap into nature itself.' (Nirmal Verma in Ram Kumar: A Retrospective , New Delhi, Feb. 1994, p. 7).The artist turned inward to the landscapes of his childhood spent at the foothills of the Himalayas. As he said, "When I sit facing the Dhauladhar range with the thick forests of the Shivaliks at my back, I start probing within myself, my mind full of memories and lost images." (Ram Kumar, rpt. in Ram Kumar: A Journey Within , New Delhi, 1996, p. 27).