Talwar is particularly skeptical of Indian art mutual funds,
which have sprung up in both the U.S. and India. He notes that to become a true
collector, art fans must spend time at galleries, rather than simply looking at
auction catalogs. It is also important to have an understanding of the broad
market for contemporary art; dilettantes risk collecting in a vacuum.
Mumbai on the Hudson
The East Coast is the center of Indian modern art in the United
States, reflecting the high concentration of expatriate Indians living there.
New York City has several well-regarded galleries: Talwar, ArtsIndia and Bose
Pacia, among others. Bose Pacia sparked one of Chaudhri’s early purchases by
sending him a flyer for its 1994 debut. Sotheby’s and Christie’s have thorough
records of previous auctions on their websites; experts also recommend
saffronart.com as an invaluable resource. A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, a book by Amrita Jhaveri, provides a solid introduction and
overview of major artists.
Despite the boom in Indian art, powerful modern art museums in
New York, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim, have yet to
host a large exhibition. Gaur, who recently began loaning some of his collection
for museum shows, hopes to change this. He is helping a firm called Art Services
International organize a traveling exhibition slated for 2008. Their goal is to
bring together the Progressives’ most significant works, including Husain’s
Between the Spider and the
Lamb, and Mehta’s Celebration.
"There’s so much interest," Gaur says. "The timing is right."
Those well-versed in the history of Indian modern art recall
that Husain and Gaitonde began garnering wide acclaim with a group show in New
Delhi in 1956, followed by one in New York two years later. These exhibitions
resulted from the efforts of Thomas Keehn, who met and befriended young artists
after moving to India in 1953 to work for a nonprofit organization established
by Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller, who was president of MoMA in the 1940s and
1950s, charged Keehn with discovering and supporting promising new Indian
artists.
Although Husain lived in Mumbai, hundreds of miles from New
Delhi, he and Keehn became close friends. Husain often painted at Keehn’s house,
even producing a large oil portrait of Keehn, his wife and five of their six
children in 1959. Keehn donated much of his collection to the nonprofit World
Education Fund as a memorial to his wife, Martha McKee Keehn, who died of cancer
in 1996.
The favorites he still owns have become part of the canvas of
his personal history. The last time Husain visited Keehn, the artist asked for a
1956 work back, offering 10 newer ones in exchange. Keehn has also been
contacted by auction houses about selling, but has resisted, giving the same
answer to anyone who seeks to separate him from the art he has enjoyed for so
many years: "I said, ‘I like that painting. [It’s] part of our family.’"
Catherine Curan is a senior correspondent for Worth.
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