Howard Hodgkin’s art was a travelogue of his visits to India, says Antony Peattie

Meghna Majumdar

NOVEMBER 28, 2018 15:46 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 28, 2018 17:22 IST

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He painted on reclaimed wood, khadi, glass and stone. But more importantly, renowned British painter Howard Hodgkin painted extensively about India, both during and after his frequent visits

“He didn’t like people to see him when he painted. He always painted alone with his assistant,” recalls translator and writer Antony Peattie, of his old friend and companion, the noted British painter Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin. “He didn’t like the idea of the ‘creative process’ being more important than the art itself. There is this huge interest in ‘behind the scenes’ — not so much what things were, but how they became — he didn’t like that. He didn’t encourage it.”

Peattie was in Chennai last week to speak about the decorated late artist and his art, particularly the three-dimensional mural that is today synonymous with the British Council of India. A tête-à-tête on the sidelines of his lecture, however, reveals how Hodgkin’s work can be seen as a travelogue of his numerous visits to different parts of India, his particular attachment to then-Bombay, and his fascination with the plantain tree.

Arrested by a wave

When Hodgkin and Peattie first planned to visit Chennai, they decided to stop by Mamallapuram first. “When we stayed in Fisherman’s Cove, we liked it so much that we never came into the city.” It wasn’t an insult to the city — he hastens to add — Hodgkin was often seduced by the quiet life outside a bustling city.

Moreover, “When he liked a place and it inspired him, he would just decide to stay.” Hodgkin’s days and nights by the Mamallapuram sea led to two pieces of art — called Fisherman’s Cove and Souvenir of Mahabalipuram — both characterised by turbulent blues and sweeping strokes of green, but otherwise quite distinct from each other.

Chasing khadi

Hodgkin’s series ‘Indian Leaves’ was painted entirely on khadi paper from a ‘Gandhian paper mill’ in Ahmedabad. The collection was notably shown at the Tate (an institution comprising four art museums that together house the national collection of British art in the UK).

“They were created at the Sarabhai compound in Ahmedabad in 1978,” says Peattie, “It’s an absolutely magical place, where the walls can swing open so the inside is the outside. It also has a fantastic garden and a studio. Howard stayed there, and opposite the compound was a khadi paper mill. The paper was brought to Howard from there, still wet, and vegetable dyes were incorporated into it as it dried. He worked very fast and very hard, and created around 30 images, all connected to India.”

But this story isn’t as smooth as all that. Peattie recalls half the paintings being wrapped up and hoisted on to the top of a taxi, as Hodgkin left for the airport. “When he got to the airport, he realised they weren’t there! The parcel had fallen off. So he went back to London mourning the loss of his work,” he describes, “Several months later, the police reported that they had found the entire parcel intact, and it was returned to him.”

City of memories

“Curiously,” Peattie continues, “It happened once again in Wiltshire in 1990-91, with ‘Indian Waves’, more work he had done on khadi paper that he had brought from India.” Peattie remembers these works clearly: “He printed blue waves and green upper halves on each sheet, and then hand-painted on top his memories of India; a Bombay wedding and other memories associated with Mumbai and with India in general.”

Hodgkin didn’t finish all the readied paper, but kept them aside and, according to Peattie, forgot all about them. “Years later, the workshop closed and returned all the prints to Howard.” In their subsequent exhibition at the Gagosian art gallery in Mayfair, London, all the paintings were sold.

Peattie later found even more khadi paper sent by the Sarabhais tucked away, and gave them away to other artists. “The paper is so extraordinary, and has its own character. It stimulates adventure. Rather like wood, it answers back,” explains Peattie.

Usually, Hodgkin did prefer wood. “Since 1968-69, he had been using wood. His first painting of India was on wood. In Mumbai, we commissioned plywood panels from a shop in Colaba Causeway, which were sawn to the exact dimensions that he wanted.” That, to Hodgkins, was of utmost importance: in Peattie’s opinion, it was often the dimension that prompted the art. “Once, in the arrival bar of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel, there was a painting whose dimensions he loved. So he had it measured and recreated in plywood. He wasn’t interested in the work of art,” informs Peattie, adding, “The final picture was called ‘arriving’.”

It was one of the less embarrassing parts of his travels. Peattie recalls his embarrassment at Hodgkin picking up discarded panels and old doors off the streets of the city.

Hodgkin had a long relationship with Mumbai. “He came in 1964 and then nearly every year after that,” even braving the not-so-inclusive streets and pavements after being confined to a wheelchair. “We took taxis instead of 11-minute walks,” Peattie remembers with a smile.

https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/around-the-country-with-a-paintbrush/article25613265.ece?homepage=true