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Tyeb Mehta

Indian modernist whose triptych Celebration sparked the Indian art boom.

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Tyeb Mehta

via Wikipedia: Tyeb Mehta · see source

Tyeb Mehta was an Indian painter born on 26 July 1925 in Kapadvanj, Gujarat, who spent most of his life in Mumbai.[1][2] His triptych Celebration sold for Rs 15 million at a Christie's auction in 2002, triggering a boom in the Indian art market.[3][4] He received the Padma Bhushan in 2007 and died on 2 July 2009 in Mumbai.[5][2]

Mahishasura by Tyeb Mehta
Mahishasura by Tyeb Mehta. Image: Heidi De Vries · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Life and work

At age 22, during the 1947 partition riots, he witnessed a man being stoned to death, an event that deeply influenced his work.[6] Mehta earned his diploma from Sir J. J. School of Art in 1952 and joined the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group.[7][3] He lived and worked in London from 1959 to 1964, where Francis Bacon's expressionism influenced his style.[8] In 1968 he received a Rockefeller fellowship and visited New York, where his work turned toward minimalism.[8][9]

Tyeb Mehta
Tyeb Mehta. Image: Cea · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mehta created his Diagonal series after accidentally flinging a black streak across a canvas in 1969.[10] Mehta's childhood was spent in Mumbai's Crawford Market area, a locality with a significant Dawoodi Bohra population.[1] During 1984–85, Mehta served as an Artist-in-Residence at Santiniketan, after which he went back to Mumbai.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Economic Times obituary notes that Mehta survived on his wife's salary while he read and painted early in his career.[3][4] The same source reports that Mehta's painting Gesture sold for Rs 31 million in December 2005, the highest price for an Indian contemporary painting on Indian soil at that time.[11][3] According to the obituary, Mehta's Kali broke the Rs 1 crore barrier, selling for approximately $230,000.[3][4] The same source recounts that Mehta mentored younger artists such as Atul Dodiya, advising on their work.[3][4]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Farooqi, "Mehta, Tyeb Grove Art", 1996 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyeb Mehta dead Hindustan Times. Retrieved on 3 July 2009. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Nair, "Tyeb Mehta, who weaved metaphor into images passes away", The Economic Times, 2009-07-03. facts only, no text reused. economictimes.indiatimes.com
  4. Tyeb Mehta, who weaved metaphor into images passes away The Economic Times, 3 July 2009.. facts only, no text reused. economictimes.indiatimes.com
  5. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyeb Mehta stood for hope over hype Nina Martyris, Times of India, 3 July 2009.; Tyeb Mehta, who weaved metaphor into images passes away The Economic Times, 3 July 2009.; Tyeb Mehta was India’s most expensive living artist, also its finest Kishore Singh, Business Standard, 3 July 2009. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyeb Mehta stood for hope over hype Nina Martyris, Times of India, 3 July 2009.; Svaraj: a journey with Tyeb Mehta's "Shantiniketan triptych". by Ramchandra Gandhi. Vadehra Art Gallery, 2002. . Page 60 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 'I don't paint for money' The Times of India, 14 June 2009. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyeb Mehta: From filmmaker to painter The Times of India, 20 September 2002.; Tully, Judd. " " Art+Auction, November 2009.; Tyeb Mehta: From filmmaker to painter The Times of India, 20 September 2002. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cotter, "Tyeb Mehta, Painter of Emerging India, Dies at 84", New York Times, 4 July 2009; Cotter, "Tyeb Mehta, Painter of Emerging India, Dies at 84", New York Times, 4 July 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Tyeb Mehta" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyeb Mehta stood for hope over hype Nina Martyris, Times of India, 3 July 2009.; "Christie's First India Auction Offers Lots from The Gandhys' Collection", BLOUIN Art+Auction magazine, 20 November 2013; Tyeb Mehta passes away Press Trust of India, The Statesman, 2 July 2009. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. "Tyeb Mehta painting sold for Rs. 3.1 crore", Rediff.com, 5 December 2005. facts only, no text reused. rediff.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Tyeb Mehta (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In which place was Tyeb Mehta born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Kapadvanj, Gujarat, India.

2. In what year was Tyeb Mehta born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1925.

From the source: “Tyeb Mehta was born on 26 July 1925 in Kapadvanj, a town of Kheda district, the Indian state of Gujarat.”

3. In what year did Tyeb Mehta die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2009.

From the source: “He died on 2 July 2009 at a Mumbai hospital following a heart attack.”

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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