Indian Art and Letters

Author(s): India Society
Publisher: India Society

Page 17

India Society's Exhibition of Modern Indian Art I do not think it would have been possible to collect from every corner in India so many typical examples of the work of Indian artists, had it not been for the kindness of collectors, headed by Her Majesty the Queen, who has lent two of her works on this occasion, the Provincial Governments, and several of the Princes, themselves patrons of the arts, who have so generously lent examples of their own treasures.
It is refreshing to some of us, who think of India very often in terms of politics, to realize her achievements in other fields, and to realize that some of the treasures which we see to-day are in fact the legitimate successors of those which were there before the time of British rule.
In this connection I think it right to refer to the great work which the British Government has itself tried to do. I need only mention two names, those of Lord Curzon and Sir John Marshall, and the work that they have done in aiding India to conserve these treasures and to develop the treasures which she already had.
It is very valuable for us, too, to realize the importance of art and its place in the daily life of India, its effect on Indian character and on the Indian manner of living. This understanding is essential at a time when this country is taking so deep an interest in all that India does and means.
It is a fact in history that a political awakening is often accompanied by a resurgence of the arts; and if the extent of this political awakening can be gauged or measured by the extent and range of the artistic treasures which we see around us, I think it will be a great encouragement to those of us who are interesting ourselves in this era of India's development that it should be inspired by such a luxuriant and artistic growth as we see around us in this Exhibition. I hope it will be the forerunner of many other Exhibitions of the same sort. (Applause.)
THE MAHARAJA OF BURDWAN : It is a matter of very great gratification to me to-day to find that the President of the India Society is the Marquess of
and, who as Earl Ronaldshay took such an active and live interest in the art of Bengal. It is true that less than half the room here has been labelled as of the Bengal School, but it is equally true that the majority of the pictures which hail from Northern India and Lucknow are by Bengali artists, which shows that the influence of Bengal is not limited to its province.
When your Royal Highness entered this Exhibition, you came through the Hall of Bombay. Bombay being the gateway of India, the Western influence would be seen there more perceptibly than in this room. Bombay is fortunate in having a prophet in Mr. Solomon, and one who is wide awake to the fact that Indian artists can learn many useful things from their Western colleagues, so long as they keep their own spirit alive.
95