For the first time, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastu Sanghralaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum) will display a collection of works by modernists like FN Souza, MF Husain, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta and others. Eight-hundred artworks from the collection of late Jehangir Nicholson is in the museum's possession for a span of 15 years.
Sabyasachi Mukherjee, director of the museum, says, “The museum has Mughal paintings, Buddhist sculptures, European paintings and much more. One of the things that was missing was artworks of modernists and now we will that as well. We received 800 spectacular works from the Jehangir Nicholson Foundation. They have lent it to us for 15 years. The museum is making space (which includes a gallery and an archive) to house this collection for the stipulated time.”
The collection includes artworks from 1930-2001. Forty-six works focus on the Bombay Progressive Art Group — an art movement initiated by artist FN Souza.
Sabyasachi says, “Interestingly, 43 out of the 800 artworks are unidentified. There are also works that belong to artists like Krishen Khanna, Laxman Srestha and Akbar Padamsee. Nicholson was known to be close friends with all of them.”
d_riddhi@dnaindia.net
