Acquired directly from the artist

The surface of the work is undulated and there are numerous irregularities across the surface which are probably inherent due to the fact that it is a collage. There are small losses to the paint that are only visible upon very close inspection. The work has not been inspected outside the frame and is in good overall condition, as viewed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Mohan Samant, among the earliest of the post-Independence modern Indian artists to train in India and settle as a mature artist in the West, has been called 'one of the few artists who has successfully made the bridge between Eastern and Western traditions.' (R. Hoskote, Mohan Samant: Painting, Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, 2013, cover sleeve)
Samant hails from a family that encouraged interest in all forms of artistic expression, including music and drama, although Samant displayed an early proficiency and dedication to the visual arts. A member of the Progressive Artists’ Group, he derived inspiration for his practice from five thousand years of art from various civilizations, including the cave paintings of Lascaux and Pre-Columbian ceramics, to develop his unique style. He left his homeland, India, in 1968 to permanently settle in New York where he lived and painted for the rest of his life. As these works reveal, he constantly experimented with materials, techniques and imagery.  
Executed in 1987, Black Shawl is a tribute by the artist to his wife, Jillian. It combines a multitude of processes to include drawing, painting, cut-outs and wiring, giving it a captivating three-dimensional quality. In a catalogue from 1996 where this work is featured on the cover, art historian Avani Parekh notes ‘Mohan’s work is complex… and not easy to unravel’ and after discussing his unique methods and like-minded Western counterparts she observed in Samant’s painting ‘nature and culture cohabit the matrix of possible and bygone worlds. In some circuitous way the wire drawings restore his connections with Indian art.’ (A. Parikh, Mohan Samant, Mumbai, 1996, n.p) 
Untitled (Naga Panchani) painted in 1997 exudes elegance but also holds an ethereal quality, the floating figures giving the work a sense of fluidity and dynamism. Translating as family of snake charmers, this reflects the artist’s childhood memories of encountering these performers on the streets. The psychedelic hues of turquoise, magenta and yellow leap out of the picture and the overlapping bodies animate and unify the composition to mesmerizing effect. Many of Samant’s works are primarily abstract, but retain figurative aspects that often echo mythological narratives. Indeed one of the most fascinating aspects of Samant's paintings is his use of texture and manipulation of various materials as these two exemplary works demonstrate.
Samant received many accolades during his lifetime, most notably voted by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best painters in the world after the legendary Dunn International: 102 Best Painters of the World exhibition in 1963. The organizers of the exhibition—whose international selection committee included Alfred Barr of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and Sir Anthony Blunt, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures—chose works by Edward Hopper, Robert Rauschenberg and Willem de Kooning, among others. Samant was one of only two newcomers included in the exhibition, and was singled out for special recognition in the Time article on the show. He was profiled again in the magazine a year later.He was also the recipient of the Asian American Heritage Award for lifetime achievement in the arts in 2000. His work is in such public collections as the Museum of Modern Art and the Asia Society (New York,) the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), the Carnegie Institute (Pittsburgh), the Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, Massachusetts) and the National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi), among others.  
‘I have long suspected that Mohan Samant was the missing link in the evolutionary nature of contemporary art in India… a dislocated, but never disoriented, pioneer.’ (R. Hoskote, Mohan Samant: Painting, Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, 2013, p. 15).