Lines that inspired generations

Manpriya Singh

When the news of Akbar Padamsee passing into the ages reached the art community, the grief wasn’t restricted to the loss of the artist, who died at 91. It was the loss of the last surviving member of the elite club that could be rightly called, ‘pioneers of the Modern Indian Painting’ belonging to SH Raza, FN Souza and MF Hussain. The artist, who not just courted creativity but also controversy, but held onto his freedom of expression very dearly.

The art community from Chandigarh recalls his works, his life and, of course, his journey. “Modern art itself is an inspiration and today’s young artists draw inspiration from his works that are a reference point for any art student. Modern art has strong roots in the West but he still kept the Indian touch to his works alive,” assistant professor Anjali Aggarwal, Government College of Art, talks of the nuances and deepness the artist’s works are often credited with. “His portraits are drawing based and there are no loud expressions…and the fact that he was the last member of the Progressive group is what makes the loss even greater.”

Very few know that the late artist paid a visit to the city less than a decade back and around the time when his appearances were rare and valued much like his artworks. Recalls Diwan Manna, president, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, “He was 84 when he paid a visit to the city and even gave a lecture organised by Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi and those were one of his very few appearances in the country.”

Known as the soft-spoken artist in the art world, adds Diwan, “He was a very passionate person, who valued his freedom of expression. He had a scientific mind, was good with numbers and in Maths and was a scholar of Sanskrit.”

Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2010, Padamsee was arrested in 1954 on charges of obscenity for two of his paintings, Lovers and Lovers II, which depicted an intimate nude couple. When asked to remove his painting, he refused to give in. Apart from the sculptures and oil paints, the artist explored several mediums—water colours, drawings, graphics.

What struck DS Kapoor, founder, NID- Kurukshetra, when he met the late artist in Mumbai in 2009, was “The fact that he was a very silent person, who let his works do the talking instead with the use of colours. It is a great thing for the country and its art when any artist of international repute has India context to their works.”

Record breaking

Awarded the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation scholarship to go to the US, the artist decided to experience New York before leaving the country. Legend has it he had no means to foot the bill at Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan but “a canvas that he had painted and carried from back in India.” Titled as Reclining Nude, the work later found its way to Sotheby where it was auctioned and finally sold at a staggering price of $1.4 million.