Jamini Prakash Gangooly

Acquired in Missouri, 2018

A relative of the Jorasanko family of Abanindranath and Gagendranath Tagore, Jamini Prakash Gangooly was introduced to painting from a young age. He was taught under British painter Charles Palmer and combined European naturalistic methods with the imagery of his home in Bengal. Renowned for both portraiture and landscape, Gangooly was a prominent painter in the first half of the twentieth century, known at home and abroad, and the winner of numerous awards and felicitations. His work shows a profound appreciation of light and shade, a preoccupation satisfied in one of his favored subjects, sunrise and sunset.

The current lot showcases Gangooly's adept, almost invisible brushwork and his exceptional tonality. The brooding, shadowed foreground, accented with a few branches of foliage emerging from the lower right, is beautifully contrasted with the golden sunlight hitting the mountaintops in the distance. This painting is deeply atmospheric, and a masterful example of Gangooly's celebrated landscape work.