Bombay Progressive Artists Group

Inspired by the exhibition of the Calcutta Group in Bombay in 1944 and 1945, six bright young artists from Bombay, brimming with new ideas, founded the Progressive Artists’ Group in 1947….The Group had its first exhibition of paintings and sculptures in Bombay in July 1949.

In his opening speech, Dr Mulk Raj Anand sounded an optimistic note on the progress made by the members of the Group. Elaborating on the motto of the Group which was based on a statement by Samuel Butler (1035 - 1912), he said that a dead art was better than dying art; that dead art was like a halter around the artists’ neck and felt that the new art would deal with social content.

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In the works of Raza, Gade, Bakre and Husain, a gradual conquest of subject matter by purely formalistic and colouristic preoccupation was noticed. Though Souza too strove for formal values, his subject matter occupied a much larger place in his imagination. Ara was the most direct painter of the Group. As described by a critic, ‘his equipment consists of human sympathy and an extraordinary interest in every form of life.’

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Whether or not vigorous synthesis of various schools was achieved by the Progressive Group, it is difficult to say. The Group as such practically disintegrated soon after its joint exhibition with the Calcutta Group held at Calcutta in 1951. By the end of 1951, F N Souza and SK Bakre moved to London and SH Raza to Paris. According to H A Gade, who had personally taken the Group’s exhibition to Calcutta, it was well received by the art lovers as well as artists like Ramkinkar Vaij, Prodosh Das Gupta and others who appreciated the experimental endeavours of the Bombay artists. The affairs of the Group were subsequently conducted by Gade and its annual exhibitions held at the Artists Aid Fund Centre, also known as the Bombay Arts Society Salon at 6 Rampart Road, Bombay, till 1954.