India, Nov. 9 -- How do you curate the works of the last remaining Modernist from the Progressive Artists Group who, up until even a few years ago, sat at his easel, every day?

Two women asked themselves this question five years ago. One was an art historian, the other a gallery director specialising in modern and contemporary South Asian art. Both based in London, one was a "pessimist", the other an "eternal optimist". And both were keen to mount a major retrospective of Krishen Khanna.

Kajoli Khanna, 38, director of Grosvenor Gallery in London and the artist's grand-daughter, wanted to bring Khanna's key works, made over eight decades, under one roof. The artist, who counted contemporaries like MF Husain and Tyeb Mehta, and younger mo...