'I have got a very large number of my friends quite excited about your forthcoming Exhibition and you can be sure we will all turn up in full force for it... I shall be of whatever help you ask of me.'
– In a letter from Patwant Singh to Narayan Shridhar Bendre, 11 September 1957
Perfectly balanced in its painterly execution, Mother and Child is one of Narayan Shridhar Bendre’s most seminal works from the 1950s. The choice of subject matter is canonical; however, in Bendre’s artistic approach, the present work is a literal upending of the figurative tradition. Bendre’s resonant use of color and almost sculptural treatment of his medium demonstrate the artist’s bold endeavor to open up to new possibilities of painting.
‘[Bendre’s] greatest achievement is that he is thoroughly contemporary and ‘modern’ in style and approach without abandoning essential elements which have their root in tradition. This gives strength and security to his best works in which nothing is left to chance, in which there are no fumbling and no loose ends…’
- ‘Classicism in Bendre’s Works’, t.mes s of India, 1950 (Y. Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, p. 288)
Mother and Child was painted while Bendre was the Head of the Department of Painting at the Faculty of Replica Handbags s in Baroda, and was acquired by Patwant Singh from the artist’s 3rd One-Man-Show in 1957. Patwant Singh and Bendre developed a lifelong friendship and the artist regularly contributed to Patwant’s famed journal, Design.
“I thank you sincerely for the purchase of my Painting “Mother and Child” – Catalogue No. 11 – from the third one man show of mine held in Bombay and providing me with more opportunities to paint.”
