Sankho Chaudhuri

Estate of the Artist

Grosvenor Gallery, London

Acquired from the above

Celebrated Indian sculptor, Sankho Chaudhuri completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, where he was a student of Ramkinkar Baij. Both artists diverged from the naturalistic tendencies of the Bengal School and the academic style of sculpture which was championed by art schools established under colonial rule. Chaudhuri instead took inspiration from the semi-abstracted works of Henry Moore and Constantin Brancusi, who shifted the focus of sculpture from surface detail to materiality. Chaudhuri was later appointed Head of the Department of Sculpture at the newly-founded Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University, Baroda, and subsequently became Dean of the school. During his time in Baroda, Chaudhuri worked alongside his contemporaries Narayan Shridhar Bendre, K.G. Subramanyan and Jeram Patel to improve the resources and quality of instruction at the Faculty of Fine Arts, installing an oven for firing ceramics and building the foundations for a library of internationally-sourced art books.

Executed in 1958, the current lot is a rare watercolour work by Chaudhuri. His sculptures are distinguished by their elegance and simplicity, showcasing the artist’s exceptional skill in capturing the essence of his subjects in just a few fluid contours. Here, Chaudhuri does the same but through the medium of watercolour, with subtle washes and strokes of paint, forming a charming riverine scene.