Lot 60: Untitled

RAMESHWAR BROOTA (B. 1941)
Untitled
signed and dated 'R. Broota 1963' (lower right)
oil on canvas
31 3/8 x 20 in. (79.3 x 50.8 cm.)
Painted in 1963

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, INDIA


The earnest figure depicted in officer's uniform is Swadesh Mahan, a young Intelligence Officer instrumental in an early crackdown of criminal mafia members Sharad Shetty and Dawood Ibrahim in Mumbai in 1965.
Broota was inspired by unsung heroes fighting corruption and asked Mahan to sit for him after seeing the officer's photograph in the newspaper.