The Progressive Artists' Group (PAG), was a group of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

ists, mainly based in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, from its formation in 1947. Though it lacked any particular style, there might be said to have been a move towards a synthesis of influences from Indian art history together with styles prevalent in Europe and North America during the first half of the 20th century, including

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ...

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

and

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it ra ...

History

The Progressive Artists' Group (PAG) was formed by six founder members,

F. N. Souza Francis Newton Souza (12 April 1924 – 28 March 2002) was an Indian-American British Asian artist. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay. Souza's style exhibited both decadence and primitivism. Early life and e ...

S. H. Raza Sayed Haider Raza (22 February 1922 – 23 July 2016) was an Indian painter who lived and worked in France from 1950 until his death, while maintaining strong ties with India. He was born in Kakkaiya (District Mandla), Central Provinces, British ...

, M. F. Husain,

K. H. Ara Krishnaji Howlaji Ara (16 April 1914 – 30 June 1985) was an Indian painter and is seen as the first contemporary Indian painter to meticulously use the female nude as a subject. He was a part of the Progressive Artists' Group in Bombay and w ...

, H. A. Gade, and

S. K. Bakre Sadanand Bakre (S. K. Bakre) (10 November 1920 – 18 December 2007) was an Indian painter and sculptor. Bakre was born in Baroda, and was one of the founders of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, the pioneers of modern art in India. In 19 ...

(the only sculptor in the group). Others, who later got associated with the group included

Manishi Dey Manishi Dey (22 September 1909 – 31 January 1966) was an Indian painter of the Bengal School of Art. Manishi Dey was the younger brother of Mukul Dey, a pioneering Indian artist and dry point etcher.Satyasri Ukil: "Mukul Dey: Pioneering India ...

, Ram Kumar,

Akbar Padamsee Akbar Padamsee (12 April 1928 – 6 January 2020) was an Indian artist and painter, considered one of the pioneers in modern Indian painting along with S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza and M.F. Husain. Over the years he also worked with various mediums ...

and

Tyeb Mehta Tyeb Mehta (26 July 1925 – 2 July 2009) was an Indian painter, sculptor and film maker. He was part of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group and the first post-colonial generation of artists in India, like John Wilkins who also broke fre ...

. The group wished to break with the revivalist nationalism established by the

Bengal school of art The Bengal School of Art, commonly referred as Bengal School, was an art movement and a style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal, primarily Kolkata and Shantiniketan, and flourished throughout the Indian subcontinent, during the Britis ...

and to encourage an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level. The Group was formed just months after the 14 August 1947 "Partition of India" and Pakistan that resulted in religious rioting and death of tens of thousands of people displaced by the new borders. The founders of the Progressive Artists Group often cite "the partition" as impetus for their desire for new standards in visual arts in India, starting with their new style of art. Their intention was to "paint with absolute freedom for content and technique, almost anarchic, save that we are governed by one or two sound elemental and eternal laws, of aesthetic order, plastic co-ordination and colour composition." The original PAG disintegrated by 1950 with the departure of

, two important founders of PAG from India; Later S K Bakre also left the group and went to UK. The artists such as Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna and Mohan Samant continue the activities of the group with three original PAG members M F Husain, H A Gade and K H Ara in India for few more years.

Bhanu Athaiya Bhanu Athaiya (née Rajopadhye; 28 April 192915 October 2020) was an Indian costume designer and painter. She was the only woman member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group and the first Indian to win an Academy Award. Alongside being Bolly ...

(the only woman artist associated with PAG), Krishen Khanna, and Mohan Samant too got associated with the group. The Progressive Artists Group held three exhibitions all together. The first was held i
1948
at the Bombay Art Society’s Salon on Rampart Row, Kalaghoda, Bombay, India; the Bombay Art Society’s salon was later recognized as Artists Centre. The second show was held in Kolkata in 1950; by the time two of group’s main founders Raza and Souza had left India for Paris and UK respectively. The third and the last show was held with three founder members of PAG in which Krishen Khanna, Bhanu Athaiya, V S Gaitonde, A A Raiba also participated in 1953.The group was ultimately disbanded in 1956. European

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

was the most distinctive influence on the group, but its members worked in dramatically different styles, from the Expressionism of Souza to the pure abstraction of Gaitonde. Specific Indian imagery and landscapes were also adopted, particularly by Mehta and Husain. Through the incorporation and mixture of new, abstract styles with traditional Indian art elements and Media, the PAG is one of the most influential art movements in India until today. In 2015, F.N. Souza's painting "Birth" set a new record for Indian art with a

hammer price In auctions, the buyer's premium is a charge in addition to the hammer price (i.e. the winning bid announced) of an auction item, or lot. The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price and the percentage of that price called for by th ...

above US$4 Million, which shows the worldwide appeal of the group.

References

Sources

* Partha Mitter, ''Indian Art (Oxford History of Art)'', Oxford University Press (2001),

External links

How it all started- Progressive artist group

* - includes group photo
Private CollectionWorks in the University of Michigan Museum of ArtWorks at the Tate
{{Authority control Arts organisations based in India Art movements Arts organizations established in 1947 Organizations disestablished in 1956 Modern art Organisations based in Mumbai 1947 establishments in India Indian artist groups and collectives

History

See also

References

Sources

External links