Chennai’s floods ravaged works of art, too

Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, MF Husain, Thota Vaikuntam, Amitabh SenGupta…. they’re all renowned painters. And they have one other thing in common — the floods that devastated Chennai ruined a clutch of canvasses by these artists, and by many others.

While the number is impossible to estimate, those who reside in upscale localities such as Kotturpuram and elsewhere have found their paintings destroyed. Collectors with works that can be salvaged are now scrambling to engage restorers in Chennai and elsewhere.

Most collectors are reluctant to talk about the paintings they have lost. But Mayur Shah, owner of Chennai’s Focus Art Gallery, says he has been getting around 10-15 art works for restoration every day since December 10.

“We’ve received old Tanjores, water colours, oil paintings, maps, photographs. Some have been totally washed out. A lot of the ‘serious’ art we talk about is just gone. But some, we are trying our best to salvage,” says Shah.

He has restored over 100 paintings after the floods. Other restorers, in Delhi and Mumbai, are also helping salvage flood-ravaged paintings. Priya Khanna, a Delhi-based art restorer, says that she has so far received around 11 paintings.

“And I’m still getting calls. But people need to figure out the logistics. In fact, I need to make one trip to Chennai to view some of the works,” says Khanna.

While restorations can cost anywhere between ₹3,000 and ₹1,00,000 depending on the damage to the painting, undoing the water damage costs between ₹3,000 and ₹30,000, depending on the size and damage. The restoration can take anywhere between three weeks and two months.

Not just art galleries, even artists themselves are restoring their works. Ashwin Subramaniam, a collector from Kotturpuram, has around 100 art works at his residence. Around eight of his art works were damaged, of which he sent one for restoration. “Through an art gallery in Mumbai, I’m sending one of my works to the artist directly for restoration. Two others I might be able to salvage, but five have been totally damaged,” he says.

“Thankfully, because of the rains in November, we had shifted some of the paintings upstairs. Otherwise the loss would have been a lot more,” he said.

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