DEVI PROSAD ROY CHOWDHURY | MAN WITH UMBRELLA

Private collection, New York

Sotheby’s New York, 16 - 17 September 1998, lot 284

Devi Prasad Roy Choudhury was a renowned Indian sculptor, painter and the founder chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi, the National Academy of Art. He learnt painting from Abanindranath Tagore and his earlier works such as the current lot exhibit the influence of his teacher. We see the quintessential oriental influences that characterized early Bengal School painting- a combination of Chinese techniques and Japanese wash paintings. He is known to have chosen his subjects from the street rather than rely on studio models which was the norm in art schools of the time. Roy Chowdhury went on to become a master educator leading the faculty at the Government College of Fine Arts in Madras from 1928 – 58. Some of his most famous works include the sculptures of Triumph of Labor in Chennai, the Martyr's Memorial in Patna and the Dandi March in Delhi.