Tarika Agarwal of Saffronart on Indian modern artist Ganesh Pyne

Mumbai: Ganesh Pyne passed away at the age of 76 after suffering a heart attack on March 12, 2013, at a private hospital in Kolkata, India.  A well known and critically acclaimed modern Indian painter, Pyne was acknowledged to be a pioneer among second-generation Indian modernists, who took over from early path breakers like M.F. Husain and F.N. Souza.

Ganesh Pyne was famously described a ‘an artist’s artist, a philosopher’s philosopher and a master fantasist of them all’, and received several awards and accolades for his work, which has been exhibited around the world including in Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Paris, London, Washington DC and Berlin.

Pyne will always be remembered as a pioneer of the Bengal School of Art and a pillar of Indian modernism. A scholar, master draughtsman and accomplished painter, Pyne’s loss will be felt deeply. His intricate drawings and delicately layered tempera paintings reflected a personal mythology shaped from his experiences growing up and living in Kolkata, and have always resonated with collectors of modern Indian art.

Although the artistic community lost someone very important to the evolution and development of modern Indian art, Pyne’s memory shall live on through his work for generations to come.

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The National Gallery of Modern Art, the Lalit Kala Akademi and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, are holding a memorial for three Legendary Masters – Bal Chhabda, Jagmohan Chopra and Ganesh Pyne on March 20, 2013 at 5:30 pm at the NGMA, New Delhi.