Prof S Settar: The art collector

Prof S Settar, who passed away this morning, was an avid and long-time art collector. Visitors to his tastefully decorated home in Sanjaynagar in Bengaluru would be left astounded by the eclectic collection which jostled for wall space and attention. Settar would unhesitatingly credit his wife for the upkeep of the paintings, sculptures, and manuscripts.

As a historian, Settar was naturally attracted to things of the past. The dazzling collection of a dozen Tanjore paintings displayed under gentle lighting could not be missed. “It was more than 50 years ago, when I came to know that an old palace of some sort was being brought down in Thanjavur,” he told this writer recently.

“I was also told that there were some exquisite paintings in the building. I immediately rushed to Thanjavur and saw those paintings; a couple of them were very large. I tried to negotiate with the contractor, but he was not willing to part with them. I returned empty-handed but made repeated visits to the town. It took almost two years to convince the chap to sell the paintings to me. It was a herculean task to pack them, load them on to a truck and transport them to Dharwad. I think they are priceless stuff and in fact, two of them are so large that I had to break a wall to accommodate them in my home.”

Settar’s Tanjore paintings came in different sizes and presented different themes. Of course, the famed Balakrishna speckled with precious stones featured in several of them. There were also images of royalty. “Look at this one,” explained Settar pointing his walking stick on a regal painting. “I am told that the nobleman astride the horse is none other than Serfoji Bhonsle (1777-1832).”

Besides Tanjore paintings which were very dear to him, Settar also collected various folk and traditional works. The wonderfully stretched out pichwais and pattachitras were among the many colourful works gathered from different parts of the country that decorated his home. The crowning glory of his collection was a set of 20-odd illustrated manuscripts which he claimed to be from 7th-8th century AD.

Settar was not indifferent to modern artists. His vast collection of drawings, prints and paintings included a variety of works by modern masters like M F Husain, Somnath Hore, Laxma Goud, Hadpad, K K Hebbar, Sakti Burman, Alphonso Arul Doss, S G Vasudev, Yusuf Arakkal, R B Bhaskaran, among many others. Settar had forged a personal relationship with most of these artists and was fond of narrating interesting stories of his interactions with them.

“I remember once it was K K Hebbar (former chairman of Lalit Kala Academy) who introduced me to a few young and talented artists. I saw their drawings and immediately commissioned two of them (B V Suresh and Basavaraju) to go to Belur and Halebid to make sketches of the temple sculptures there. They were thrilled and came back with a set of wonderful drawings which we used in one of my publications. Today I am so happy that Suresh is nationally recognised for his art installations and other creative work.”

Settar was also proud that in the course of his association with several outstanding organisations, he was able to organise art camps and workshops inviting traditional and modern artists from across the country. “I always tried to encourage healthy interaction between artists. I also benefited from these interactions and formed long-term relationships with them.”