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Raza with the Progressives in
Mumbai in the 1940s
of France, from representational landscapes to metaphysical Raza’s artistic aptitude appeared early, at the commercial streets, Raza painted several gouache
abstraction, is truly phenomenal. There was one incident that Higher Secondary School in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. works that captured the city’s spirit. During this period,
Raza always shared and recalled from his childhood, which With the guidance of his art teacher, Shri Daryav Singh he also attended evening classes at the Mohan Art Club
was from the late 1920s. It was symbolic in understanding Rathore, he designed the first edition cover of the school with painter Mohan Kulkarni, who kindly waived off his
his later engagement with the bindu. When he struggled to magazine, Pushpanjali. His love for poetry, music, literature, registration fee.
concentrate in school, Shri Nandlalji Jharia, his teacher, drew Hindi, and Indian culture was nurtured by another great Raza began gaining recognition after exhibiting two
a simple black dot on the wall, asking him to focus until his teacher, Gauri Shankar. These early mentors helped him unframed gouaches at the Art Society of India’s show at
mind stilled. This moment, which seemed ordinary at the discover the beginnings of the artist he would eventually Cama Hall. Here, the critic, Rudolf von Leyden, praised
time, planted a seed that Raza himself would later describe as become. Their words stayed with him like softly turning his works as the most significant in the exhibition. Raza
foundational to his life’s artistic direction. pages. Colour, sound, and verse began to weave his inner spent the next few years travelling widely across India,
world. And from those gentle origins, a lifelong vision including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and the
was born, one that would one day illuminate the canvas south, absorbing artistic and cultural influences. In 1944,
of modern Indian art. Guided by the formative influences Walter Langhammer, newly-appointed Art Director of
Untitled (Houses), 18.2 x 19.2 in, gouache & ink on paper, 1953 and encouragement from his teachers, Raza stepped The Times of India, offered Raza his studio. He guided his
forward from inspiration into rigorous artistic training. In artistic development and introduced him to the works of
the late 1930s, he attended the Nagpur School of Art, the Impressionists, the Bengal Renaissance, and thinkers
studying drawing and painting under the guidance of M V like Coomaraswamy and Herbert Read. Langhammer
Athawale. After completing his studies, he taught drawing also connected him to collector Emmanuel Schlesinger,
at the Gondia Municipal High School and later at the who later became a key patron. Raza received a silver
Government Normal School in Amravati. The 1940s were medal from the Bombay Art Society in 1946, but the
a time of political and cultural transformation. These were following years brought both personal loss and historic
the final years of the freedom struggle; the dynamic energy milestones: the passing of his mother in 1947 and India’s
of the growing city gave young artists a fertile ground for independence. That very same year, he held his first
experimentation. Fatima, his wife, along with the rest of her solo exhibition. This event, at the Bombay Art Society
family, moved to Pakistan after the Partition of India, while Salon, and inaugurated by Rudolf von Leyden, marked an
Raza remained in India. important early milestone in Raza’s career.
In 1943, Raza moved to Bombay (now Mumbai)
and joined the Sir J J School of Art. During the same
time, he was also working at Express Block Studio, as The Invisible Cross The Bombay Years & the Progressive Artists’ Group
a designer. The studio’s owners, Jalil Sahib and Ashfaq 51.3 x 35 in (130 x 89 cm) A defining chapter in Raza’s artistic life emerged when
Husain, were generous and allowed him to use the Oil on canvas he co-founded the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) in
space freely for three years. From a window overlooking 1970 1947, with F N Souza and H A Gade. This group, which
Pherozeshah Mehta Road, one of Bombay’s busy soon expanded to include M F Husain, Tyeb Mehta,
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