4th Jun, 2025 11:00
Indian, Islamic, Himalayan and South-East Asian Art and Greek and Roman Antiquities
295
KRISHNAJI HOWLAJI ARA (INDIAN 1914-1985)
Untitled (Woman)
oil on canvas
signed 'ARA' lower right
approx. 75 x 60cm.
Provenance: Private UK collection. Anil Relia collection. Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda. Kanti Rana collection, Baroda. Acquired by the above directly from the artist.
Ara was born in the small town of Bolarum near Hyderabad but ran away to Bombay at the age of seven. As a teenager he was imprisoned for taking part in Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha movement. Although he had no formal training as an artist he began painting watercolours from a young age. Whilst making a living cleaning cars he met the art critic Rudy von Leyden and later Walter Langhammer who encouraged him to pursue a career as an artist. Ara became an important figure in the development of modern art in India and was a founder member of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) that was formed on the eve of Indian Independence. He had a modernist approach to his work, capturing the experiences and observations of everyday life. His favoured subjects were still lifes and depictions of the human form within a domestic setting. As Yashodhara Dalmia explains Ara ‘was not involved in the anatomy of the figure nor with forms of realism. He was seeking a means of extending his language in colour, form, and composition…’ (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001, p. 139).
Sold for £8,000
Untitled (Woman)
oil on canvas
signed 'ARA' lower right
approx. 75 x 60cm.
Provenance: Private UK collection. Anil Relia collection. Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda. Kanti Rana collection, Baroda. Acquired by the above directly from the artist.
Ara was born in the small town of Bolarum near Hyderabad but ran away to Bombay at the age of seven. As a teenager he was imprisoned for taking part in Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha movement. Although he had no formal training as an artist he began painting watercolours from a young age. Whilst making a living cleaning cars he met the art critic Rudy von Leyden and later Walter Langhammer who encouraged him to pursue a career as an artist. Ara became an important figure in the development of modern art in India and was a founder member of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) that was formed on the eve of Indian Independence. He had a modernist approach to his work, capturing the experiences and observations of everyday life. His favoured subjects were still lifes and depictions of the human form within a domestic setting. As Yashodhara Dalmia explains Ara ‘was not involved in the anatomy of the figure nor with forms of realism. He was seeking a means of extending his language in colour, form, and composition…’ (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001, p. 139).
Auction: Indian, Islamic, Himalayan and South-East Asian Art and Greek and Roman Antiquities, 4th Jun, 2025
Auction Location: London, UK
The sales include sculpture, bronzes, metalwork, textiles and paintings representative of the richly varied styles seen across the Indian subcontinent, from early Buddhist and Jain art to Mughal and European-influenced works of art of the colonial era.
Works of art from all parts of the Islamic world, from Morocco in the west, through the Middle East, Persia and Central Asia to muslim China and South East Asia in the East are included in the sale. Objects range in date from the early centuries of Islam to the early 20th century at a wide range of price levels.
The sales also include Khmer, Thai and Javanese sculpture and bronzes, textiles from the Indonesian islands, Thai ceramics, Burmese lacquer and Buddhist manuscripts. Works of art range from the early Indian-influenced styles from 9th century Java to the elaborate carved and lacquered woodwork from Colonial Burma.
For full details of bibliographic references, see pages 192-193 of the page turning and printed versions of the catalogue.
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 1st June 12pm - 4pm
Monday 2nd June 10am - 8pm
Tuesday 3rd June 10am - 5pm
CONTACT US
Lara Defries
lara.defries@olympiaauctions.com
Mr Arthur Millner
arthur.millner@olympiaauctions.com
Nicholas Shaw
nicholas.shaw@olympiaauctions.com
Viewing
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 1st June 12pm - 4pm
Monday 2nd June 10am - 8pm
Tuesday 3rd June 10am - 5pm
