The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), one of India’s premier scientific institutions, stands at the southernmost tip of the sprawling metropolis of Bombay, overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea. Inside its grand buildings, every day, scientists ponder over path-breaking ideas and discoveries in physics, mathematics, biology and computer science. Also within its hallowed walls and corridors is housed one of the most magnificent collections of modern Indian art.
The TIFR art collection represents the culmination of the wide interests and ideas of its founder Homi Jehangir Bhabha. With over 250 artworks, the collection was built between the early 1950s and the early 1970s.
In his bid to bring about this beautiful synthesis of art and science, Bhabha sought out significant works of the Progressive Artists Group (PAG). The PAG, founded in 1947, heralded a new movement in Indian art, promising to overthrow the conservative artists of the 1940s. The founding members included K.H. Ara, Sadanand Bakre, H.A. Gade, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza and F.N. Souza. V.S. Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta, Ram Kumar and Bal Chavda were also members of the group.
An avid lover of art and an artist himself, Bhabha was an insider within Bombay’s art world. The works were bought either directly from the artists or from art shows. Kekoo Gandhy, who built one of independent India’s first galleries, started holding special previews for Bhabha in his frame shop, Chemould Frames. Gandhy recalls Bhabha’s visits to his shop, “We had an unwritten agreement with Dr Bhabha that we would call him the day before the exhibition, and that he be given the first pick. The other part of it was that Dr Bhabha would drop in from his home at Kenilworth and Roshan [Kalapesi] would introduce young artists to him. He would ask for the frames to be held against the paintings and our chap would have to hold it. Sometimes Bhabha would forget that it was being held for a long time.” (Chatterjee/Gandhy 2010, 11).
The TIFR art collection was perhaps the result of one man’s vision and interests. However, Bhabha also sought advice from a small group of art-insiders. Among them was Rudi von Leyden, who had a crucial impact on Bhabha’s choice of art. Von Leyden also exhibited great affinity for the works of the PAG. Among the major paintings adorning the TIFR walls is The Critic (1943) by the Austrian-born artist Walter Langhammer. The subject of the painting is von Leyden, admiring a classical Indian stone sculpture. Langhammer had also found refuge in Bombay shortly before the Second World War. He was one of PAG’s leading patrons.
Von Leyden was also part of the selection committee for a mural competition funded by the TIFR. In late 1962, Bhabha invited several artists, both young and established, to submit entries for a mural covering the 40-foot long space in the entrance foyer of the institute. The other members of the committee were Bhabha’s companion Phiroza Wadia, the mathematician K. Chandrasekharan, the art historian Karl Khandalavala and Bhabha himself. The competition saw submissions from Jamini Roy, K.H. Ara, N.S. Bendre, Satish Gujral, M.F. Husain, R.D. Raval, K. Hebbar, B. Narayan, B. Prabha and G. Solegaonkar. The final shortlisted artists were Husain and Raval. Finally, Husain’s Bharat Bhagya Vidhata was chosen. All the other canvasses from the competition still adorn the walls of the institute.
Bhabha’s vision for the future of science as well as art in India was decidedly inclusive. In 1951, he had found a position in the institute for the cosmic ray physicist Bernard Peters. Polish-born Peters had first fled Nazi oppression in Germany for the United States, where he encountered new persecution because of his leftist ideas during the McCarthy era. Bhabha had welcomed him to TIFR and Peters went on to spend nine years working in Bombay.
In 1947, Bhabha wrote a letter to the minister of education, Maulana Azad. In the letter, he argues the case of Magda Nachman Acharya, a Russian painter in exile in Bombay. Nachman Acharya’s works had been rejected by a selection committee, citing her nationality, for an exhibition of Indian art in London in 1947. He writes, “Art like Science knows no frontiers and we should not only put any impediments in the way of foreign artists coming to this country but should rather encourage them to do so provided they are people of eminence and have a contribution to make to our cultural and intellectual life. We all hope that with its newly achieved freedom, India will become the leading country of Asia and one of the leaders of the world in cultural matters, and it can achieve this in the artistic sphere not by a mere repetition of its ancient forms but by the creation of new art forms, possibly through a synthesis of the ancient Indian and European traditions in art.” (Letter to Maulana Azad 1947, n.p.)