Syed Haider Raza b. 1922 Untitled

During the 1960s and 70s Raza's paintings moved  away from his earlier semi-abstracted French landscapes towards a more pure abstract style. The impulses leading to this change were two-fold. His visit to the United States in 1962 brought him into contact with the New York school of painters and he witnessed for the first t.mes the Abstract Expressionism of such artists as Sam Francis, Rothko and Pollock. Pollock’s works in particular left a deep impression upon Raza since their lack of formal construction allowed the artist to experiment freely with pictorial space. Raza’s move towards less structured compositions coincided with a change of medium from oil to acrylic which allowed him a greater freedom in the application of paint and resulted in the creation of more abstract yet fluid works.