The Trio

This watercolour by Gobardhan Ash is markedly different from the images of devastation—caused by the 1943 Bengal famine—that he is most well-known for. A modernist work, it appears to be a snapshot of an autumnal street somewhere in the western world given the long coats and hats of the three men in the painting. The colour scheme too is more temperate than tropical. The most arresting quality of the work are the impressionistic brushstrokes that define the figures as well as the busy landscape behind them, successfully capturing the afternoon light of the scene.