Art & Entertainment

Chester's Gut-Level Feeling

He knew 40 years ago that Indian art would take centrestage one day

Advertisement

Chester's Gut-Level Feeling
info_icon

Amanufacturer of leather goods, Chester Herwitz first came to India with his wife Davida on a business trip in '61. He bought a painting by M.F. Husain and was curious enough to meet the artist, who then introduced him to other Indian painters and sculptors. Thus began Herwitz's nearly 40 years of patronage that resulted in his celebrated collection of contemporary Indian art. According to art critic Yashodhara Dalmia: 'Herwitz had this long vision of Indian art, for he knew one day it would occupy a position of centrality. All his efforts for contemporary art and artists were motivated by this inner conviction. He felt that the vitality of Indian art was at gut-level, from the street as it were.'

Advertisement

The Herwitz collection has been exhibited at some of the world's leading art institutions, including London's Tate Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Paris' Pompidou Centre. According to Susan Bean, curator of the 'Timeless Visions' exhibit now on at Salem's Peabody Essex Museum: 'The wonderful thing about this, for those who had the privilege of visiting his collection or participating in a gallery tour of an exhibition, was that he was both eloquent and entertaining when he discussed the works, and his enthusiasm for them was contagious.'

Last June, Chester Herwitz died in a tragic auto accident. His collection will be donated to a US museum,probably in his home state of Massachusetts. There's an unavoidable irony here. Earlier this century, the great art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy offered to give his priceless Indian art collection to the Benares Hindu University,but it wasn't interested, so ultimately both he and his artworks went to Massachusetts' Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The Herwitz collection too was first offered as a gift to India, and although Herwitz cited lack of corporate support for the failure of that donation, he may also have been worried about growing intolerance in India (which led to the attack on an Ahmedabad contemporary art gallery named in Herwitz's honour). Whatever his reasons, another major collection of Indian art will find a permanent home overseas. Not for the last time, India's loss will be America's gain.

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement