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ShareMumbai: Tyeb Mehta, the art maestro who passed away early last morning from a cardiac arrest, was born in the small town of Kapadvanj, Gujarat, in 1925.
Arun Vadhera, a close friend and the man who handled all of Tyeb's art correspondence as his only gallerist, says, "Tyeb was ill for a very long time. He underwent a bypass surgery twenty years ago and given his age (84), he used to be in and out of hospital often."
Tyeb's contribution to Indian art is immense. And he single-handedly raised the price tags of Indian artists in the global art market in the last seven to eight years.
Dinesh Vazirani of Saffronart explains, "Tyeb was the benchmarking leader for Indian art globally, beginning 2001. When none of the Indian art works reached the mark of 50,000 dollars, Tyeb's Falling Figure reached a mark of 75,000 dollars. In 2003, his work Celebration reached the mark of 350,000 dollars and in 2005, Tyeb's Mahisasura marked a million dollars at a Christie's auction."
Talking about Tyeb's undying desire to bring about social change, artist Riyaz Komu recalls, "Sometime ago, the Baroda art school was vandalised when a young boy had made a few nude works and exhibited them. The entire art fraternity had revolted against this incident and Tyeb Mehta was there for almost two hours outside the Jehangir Art Gallery protesting. At that age also he stood up for social issues. He was and always remains a true inspiration."
