Indian art: The lasting strokes of Group 1890
Group 1890 was a brilliant, if brief, movement in India’s art history
Curated By: Kishore Singh
Vigilante
Rajesh Mehra
b. 1932
Every once in a while, Rajesh Mehra, who taught at the College of Art, New Delhi, has been known to drop hints about why Group 1890 collapsed, though there is hardly any mystery about the movement petering out, even as individual artists continued along their trajectories. Mehra was co-opted as a member after his ‘Two Figures in a Deserted Garden’ received acclaim and was acquired by the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. His works at the group’s exhibition too consisted of personal landscapes. Though he more or less stopped painting by the ’80s, he continues to remain a storehouse of information on the group, and has archival material that has helped scholars study and analyse the movement and its importance.
Writing on the Wall Water colour on paper-1 1964; Collection: The artist
Rajesh Mehra
b. 1932
Every once in a while, Rajesh Mehra, who taught at the College of Art, New Delhi, has been known to drop hints about why Group 1890 collapsed, though there is hardly any mystery about the movement petering out, even as individual artists continued along their trajectories. Mehra was co-opted as a member after his ‘Two Figures in a Deserted Garden’ received acclaim and was acquired by the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. His works at the group’s exhibition too consisted of personal landscapes. Though he more or less stopped painting by the ’80s, he continues to remain a storehouse of information on the group, and has archival material that has helped scholars study and analyse the movement and its importance.
Writing on the Wall Water colour on paper-1 1964; Collection: The artist
