Progressive Artists’ Group

Progressive Artists’ Group

Subject :History

Context: On the 75th anniversary of the Progressive Artists’ Group, a look back at how some of India’s most well-known artists came together to explore the confluence of tradition and modernity and what their collaboration meant for Indian art

Concept: 

• The Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG), was a group of modern artists, mainly based in Bombay, 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, Cubism and Expressionism.
• The Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) was formed by six founder members, N. Souza, S. H. Raza, M. F. Husain, K. H. Ara, H. A. Gade, and S. K. Bakre (the only sculptor in the group). Others, who later got associated with the group included Manishi Dey, Ram Kumar, Akbar Padamsee and Tyeb Mehta.
• The group wished to break with the revivalist nationalism established by the Bengal school of art and to encourage an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level.
• 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 displaced by the new borders.
• The group was ultimately disbanded in 1956.

The Progressive Artists Group held three exhibitions:

• The first was held in 1948 at the Bombay Art Society’s Salon on Rampart Row, Kalaghoda, Bombay,
• The second show was held in Kolkata in 1950; 
• 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.