IMPORTANT INDIAN MINIATURES FROM THE PAUL F.
WALTER COLLECTION
TO BE SOLD AT SOTHEBY’S IN NEW YORK ON NOVEMBER 14, 2002
-ONE OF THE LAST GREAT COLLECTIONS OF ITS TYPE REMAINING
IN PRIVATE HANDSOn November 14, 2002 Sotheby’s New York will offer for sale Indian
Miniatures from the Paul F. Walter Collection. Comprising nearly 100 works,
the collection features paintings
from the Rajput School which are
distinctly Hindu in subject matter,
and are based on national epics
and religious texts. The collection
includes works created in the
Hindu courts of Rajasthan,
Bundelkhand, Malwa, Gujarat, and
hill states of Punjab and Uttar
Pradesh, which were collected
over a period of more than 30
years. Prior to their exhibition and
sale in New York in November,
highlights from the collection will be
on view at Sotheby’s in New York
from September 14th-19th during
Asia Week, and in London from
October 10th-15th during Islamic
Week. The collection is expected
to bring in excess of $1 million.
(Pictured: Krishna celebrating Holi, attributed to Nihal Chand, est.
$40/60,000)
Edward Wilkinson, Director of Sotheby’s Indian and Southeast Asian
Department, said, “Following the success of the sale of Indian Miniature
Paintings from the Collection of Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck last March, we
are honored to present this offering of works from the Collection of Paul F.
Walter, one of the last great collections of Indian miniatures remaining in
private hands. Paul Walter is a discerning connoisseur who amassed the
majority of the works in his collection during the ‘golden period’ of collecting -the 1970s -- when the great collections of the Maharajas of India were being
dispersed, and this sale represents a rare opportunity for collectors to
acquire pieces from a defining period in Indian painting. The November
auction follows in Sotheby’s long tradition of handling some of the most
famed collections in the field, including the Carter Burden Collection (1991),
the Baron and Baroness Bachofen von Echt Collection (1992) and British
Rail Pension Fund Collection (1994 and 1996).”
Paul Walter is an
avid collector from
New York with
wide-ranging
interests. He
studied history and
art history at
Oberlin and
Columbia
University and has
always devoted
much of his time
and considerable
passion to the
process of
collecting works of
art. He has
collected since childhood, starting with stamps and coins and eventually
graduating to various aspects of the fine and applied arts. He purchased his
first Indian miniature painting in 1965 after being drawn by their striking,
visual qualities. Mr. Walter said, “I was drawn to Indian miniatures for many of
the same reasons I enjoy Contemporary art – bold color schemes and
experimentation in pictorial organization. Interest in their iconography came
subsequently as I traveled to India and studied the history of the works.” In
1968 Mr. Walter took his first trip to India to “see the countryside, the people
and museums first-hand,” and he found that the rich palette of Indian
miniature painting was “taken directly from objects of daily life in
India.” (Pictured: A page from the Fraser Album, Delhi, 1820, est.
$60/90,000)
The collection of Paul Walter features many important works which have been
extensively published in books such as American Collectors of Asian Art,
1986 and The Classical Tradition of Rajput Painting by leading scholar
Pratapaditya Pal. A highlight of the collection is an illustration of Krishna
celebrating Holi
(pictured on page
1), attributed to
Nihal Chand, is
another
spectacular
highlight of the
collection. Dating
to 1750-75 and
from the
Kishangarh
region, this
watercolor
depicts, in brilliant
color, Krishna
celebrating the festival of color with Radha and Gopis. The painting is
estimated to sell for $40/60,000 and is one of only a few works by this master
artist remaining in private hands.
An illustration to the Shiva Purana, Guler, 1770, of Shiva and Parvati bathing
(pictured right), is a rarely depicted scene and is estimated to bring
$30/50,000. Rendered in jewel-like tones of red and green, this work
represents the high-point of Guler/Kangra painting from the Punjab Hills in
India, and has been featured in numerous publications, most notably Dancing
to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art published in 1997.
Also included in the collection is a
page from the Fraser Album
(pictured at the top of p. 2), Delhi,
from 1820, which is undoubtedly the
most important Company School
manuscript created. Featuring six
richly-attired travelers, this
watercolor on paper, from the
celebrated series commissioned by
two English brothers, William and
James Fraser, who were based
near Delhi in the early 19th century,
is estimated to sell for $60/90,000.
Acquired by Mr. Walter at Sotheby’s
New York in 1980, this painting is
one of the finest examples from the
Fraser manuscript.
The highlight of the collection is an illustration to a tantric devi series (pictured
left), Basholi, circa 1660-70, which is estimated to sell for $100/150,000. In
this painting, which is featured in Devi: The Great Goddess, published in
1999, Devi, as Bhadrakali and garlanded with snakes, stands in the center of
the picture on a corpse and is accompanied by four-armed Tripura and an
acolyte strewing flowers. Accentuated by the brilliant, yellow background and
red border, this painting is one of the few pages from the tantric devi series
that remains in private hands.
Mr. Wilkinson continued, “The dispersal of this collection represents one of
the most important moments in the field since the early 1990s. By offering
these works alongside our major sales of Contemporary Art in November,
collectors will have the rare opportunity to consider important Western
Contemporary art juxtaposed with Indian paintings -- equally confrontational in
their format and use of color, yet at opposite ends of the spectrum in both
age and inspiration.”
EXHIBITION DATES
SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK
SOTHEBY’S LONDON
SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK
ASIA WEEK - SEPTEMBER 14-19,
2002
ISLAMIC WEEK - OCTOBER 10-15,
2002
NOVEMBER 9-13, 2002
For More Information, Please Contact Sotheby’s Press Office, 212 606 7176
www.sothebys.com