LOT 79
SUNIL DAS
B. India, 1939 – 2015
Galloping Horses I, II, III
Charcoal on paper
60 x 90 cm
Signed Sunil Das on lower right
PROVENANCE
Comes with the invoice of purchase from Chiswick Auction London from the Sale on 29th June 2022
Private Collection, Singapore
RM 7,000 – 15,000
Sunil Das (1939–2015), one of India’s important modernist painters from Bengal, established his reputation through his extraordinary and energetic depictions of horses. A graduate of the Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta, Das was already gaining recognition during his student years, becoming the youngest recipient of the Lalit Kala Akademi Award and later receiving a scholarship to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2014 for his contribution to Indian art.
The horse became the defining subject of Das’s artistic vocabulary. He once recalled having drawn thousands of horses during the 1950s and 1960s, captivated by their movement, muscular force and untamed energy. In this set of three Galloping Horse works, swift, assured strokes capture the animals in dynamic motion, conveying a sense of speed, tension and freedom. Das’s characteristic economy of line allows each gesture to carry tremendous expressive force, transforming the horse from a mere subject into a powerful symbol of vitality and the human spirit.
His celebrated horse imagery earned him the affectionate nickname “Ghora Das”, while his later fascination with the drama of Spanish bullfighting further informed his exploration of movement, strength and instinct. Across these three works, Das’s spontaneous brushwork and expressive minimalism reveal the enduring power of one of modern Indian art’s most recognisable visual motifs.