MUMBAI.- Prinseps are set to open their auction season with Somnath Hore’s works on paper, which will be open to online bidding, offering 82 lots that will go under the hammer on 29th April 2022. Somnath Hore’s works are considered to be the most expressive objectification of the essence of wounded humanity. The upcoming auction will offer each of Hore’s physical works on paper. All 82 works on paper carry an estimate of INR 50,000 - INR 5,00,000.

In Somnath’s vision, it is the spectacle of man’s suffering that steals the show. Hore's paintings, prints, and drawings reveal a torn and injured world depicting a kind of social realism. His body of work is an understanding of the human predicament that took shape from encountering the wars, the Japanese bombings, and the man-made famine he experienced in his early adulthood.

The key highlights of the upcoming auction include; Lot 42, Untitled (Seated Lady; Flowers, 1942), which depicts a woman seated in a waiting stance, the artwork is a mixed media on paperwork accompanied by a contrasting colour scheme; Lot 44, Untitled ( Mother and Child) reflecting on a mother’s relationship with her child and the fondness they share for each other.

Hore’s works were a reaction to major historical crises and events of 20th century Bengal such as the Bengal famine of 1943 and the Tebhaga movement. Other highlights of the upcoming auction include Lot 46, Untitled (Wounds); the series encapsulates all his observations and feelings that were deeply influenced by the suffering that ensued after the Bengal famine of 1943; Lot 72, Untitled ( Portrait, 1975) a lithograph depicting the classic hairstyle of that time and Lot 77, Untitled ( Family, 1996) depicting a family in transit.

Speaking about Prinseps’s upcoming Somnath Hore auction, Prinseps Vice-President and curator Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil notes, “Each of these works have a unique story to tell, one that helps us understand Indian history and the artistic climate of the subcontinent during this scintillating era. Prinseps is thrilled to bring such an expanse of Somnath Hore works to the collectors. This is the sage of an artist whose life was an expressive canvas that deeply empathized with human suffering.”