Gallerist, friend, art connoisseur: Artist Khanna remembers Virendra Kumar

Virendra Kumar, who opened the Kumar Art Gallery in Sunder Nagar, Delhi, passed away recently

Added to the long list of fatalities in 2020 is Virendra Kumar, the person who opened the Kumar Art Gallery in Sunder Nagar, Delhi. He was one of the first to venture out in dealing with modern art. In those times, roughly the thirties and forties, living by the sale of modern works was difficult. Only those who were dedicated and not afraid of failure gravitated to this “profession”. Virendra Kumar was one such, and he created a gallery which is unique.

The personality of Virendra Kumar was complex. A subtle mix of the metaphysical and the down-to-earth practical.

I was amazed to see his love for our ancient arts, be it scrolls or miniatures. He could hold forth on old Indian sculpture in stone and at the same time deliberate on small clay figurines with eloquence.

At the same time his sympathy and love for works (only some!) of modern art was amply shown by his reluctance to sell such works, be they large canvasses or small sketches.

Clearly he was not to be thought of as a trader. He once said to me, “You don’t sell ecstasies.” I was amazed to find an enormous quantity of my work, paintings done in the fifties and sixties, and many drawings. I was delighted to see so much of my work — not up for sale!

His association with artists was quite unique. It wasn’t a bit like what you would expect. Behind the transactions was a warm friendship, not to be melted away at the end of “business”.

I can’t end this without a memory of something that happened many years ago. My friend Tyeb Mehta was returning home to India from Britain and wrote to me asking if I could find a place for him and his family to live in Delhi. I approached Virendra and told him that I’d found a place for Tyeb, above a garage! But there was still the problem of rent and other expenses — could Virendra help? “Yes, of course,” was his reply. “Shall we agree on Rs 150 per month for a small- to middle-size painting. I laughed and told him that was too little for Tyeb to survive. I suggested Rs 500 per month. He laughed and said, “You are getting that, do you think that he is as good as you are?” We laughed and I told him, “He is better than I am.” More laughter and a handshake for the agreement.

Kumar Art Gallery was established in 1955 at Sunder Nagar, Delhi