Ganesh Pyne : His Life and Times

Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. Childhood years. 2. Art college and after. 3. Search for a style. 4. Looking inwards. 5. Towards sublimation. 6. Becoming whole. Biodata. Selected bibliography.

"The reclusive Ganesh Pyne, is arguably, one of the more enigmatic figures in the Indian art world. The dizzy heights his prices scale are but one indication of his standing. Yet, few have a clear understanding of the man and his deeply disturbing world of darkness and shadows. Like the author R.K. Narayan and his Malgudi, Pyne has created his own universe. This world is populated by two-dimensional figures, stiff, angular and often skeletal, surrounded by dark pools of water where boats ply and swords dangle. This world is created in an unique visual language, a synthesis between tradition and modernity, but in itself a truly original idiom. As the interest in Pyne’s work has grown so has the curiosity about the man.

Now a biography, the first in English language, seeks to unravel the inner world of Ganesh Pyne. Ella Datta, a journalist and a critic, has been researching the artist for over fifteen years. Her book probes Pyne’s psyche and looks at his milieu. It explores his rootedness in the Bengali ethos but recognises his essential modernity that enables him to rise above time and place. The result is a book of pioneering significance both for art lovers as well as for art historians." (jacket)