Last week I lost my friend Chester in a car accident. His death has brought to an end the story of one of the great collectors of our time and his very special commitment to contemporary Indian Art. I salute not only the wonderful quality of the 3,000-odd artworks he brought together but the intensity with which he engaged with Indian art, the personal tenacity and acumen he showed over three decades of collecting and the way he loved the art more than the game of its pursuit. His story will undoubtedly be the first of many histories of individual collecting and courage in the contemporary Indian art world.

In the '80s Chester and Davida were not only collecting but sending their acquisitions on the road. Again he was the first to do so. In spite of the task and the risk of transporting fragile works of art as well as the time, energy and diplomacy required to arrange exhibitions in far flung locations he made sure that art from their collectiongot exhibited at many distinguished museums -- The Tate in London, the Pompidon Centre in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford. I don't think this was done because there was a need for public recognition of their achievement or because they wanted professional validation of their taste. They were contemporary Indian art's genuine spokepersons.

In the last few years his physical condition kept alternating, improving and declining. The fate of his collection took on an urgency. Would he seek a permanent home for his collection in India or abroad? Would he build his own museum and keep the collection intact? Would he give his entire art holdings to an institution that met his and Davida's demands? He was clear that he did not want to see the collection parceled out or dismantled. The unfortunate incident at Hussain's Gaofa in Ahmedabad was a great blow to both Chester and Davida. It sealed the possibility of the collection ever coming to a permanent home in India. They feared for its safety. In 1995, 219paintings and drawings were auctioned by Sotheby's. Proceeds from the sale went to the Chester and Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust which was set up specifically to aid in the establishment of a museum of contemporary Indian Art of India in the US.

The Herwitz Collection is a running account of contemporary Indian art's evolution with a detail and force unmatched in any other collection. We need to honor Chester and his very special history of decisions and commitments. As an art collector he had no peers.