DOUGLAS, GORAY (1920-1976)

**PRICE ON APPLICATION**
 
“Nepali Sadhu” (c.1950)
Pastel & charcoal
39 x 26cm
Signed lower left
*private collection, Sydney
 
Douglas was an award-winning, Burmese-born Indian artist. Having fled his birthplace, Maimio, following the Japanese Invasion of 1942, he settled in Darjeeling, India, where he became famous for his intimate, realistic portraits of locals in this multicultural West Bengali town, on the footstep of the Himalayas. This incredible portrait depicts a Nepali Sadhu; a holyman of Hindu faith practising 'Vairagya' - leaving the world (cutting familial, societal and earthly attachments) to focus on spiritual enlightenment. Douglas’s unique style of painting in oil, pastels, watercolour, charcoal and his etchings earned him international repute, with exhibitions being held across Europe. A retrospective of his works was held in Darjeeling to mark the 30th anniversary of his death.