Shyamal Dutta Ray

Framed behind glass, this work in in good 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."

Known as a master watercolourist, Shyamal Dutta Ray is patricularly sensitive to physical and emotional suffering. His works are steeped with a sense of melancholy, addressing the urban decay and stark poverty of Calcutta in the 1970s, portraying broken walls, peeling plaster, cobweb-filled rooms and empty houses; a commentary on the transient nature of existence. The present work is from a poignantly rendered series depicting royal subjects who are now powerless, old potentates stripped of their vigor and vitality and reduced to a passing memory of a long gone era. Beautifully rendered, the work is heightened with an underlying sense of loss and tragedy.

Historically this medium was first embraced by the Bengal School artists, and had largely been used to depict landscapes. Ray has reinvented this medium, producing brilliant, thematic works, imbued with a universal appeal, that derived its inspiration from the joy and suffering of the common man.