The Hungarian-Indian painter is regarded as one of the greatest Indian women painters of the 20th century. She has been called a 'national treasure' by the Indian government and hers are among the most expensive Indian paintings sold in the world. While she started painting at a really early age, she achieved quite a lot of fame during her short lifespan (1913-1941). As one of her paintings titled ‘In The Ladies’ Enclosure’ recently achieved a world record price of Rs 37.8 crores for the artist, here is a look at some of her other works
Updated On: 2021-07-15 03:37 PM IST
Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘In the Ladies’ Enclosure’ achieved a world record price for the artist's works when it was sold for Rs 37.8 crores at the Saffronart’s Summer Live Auction 2021 on July 13. Her previous most expensive painting was 'The Girl in Blue', which fetched Rs 18.69 crores at a Sotheby's auction in Mumbai in 2018. The July 2021 sale of the 1938 artwork became the second most expensive Indian painting to be sold globally. Currently, the most expensive painting is by Indian artist V S Gaitonde’s Untitled (1961), which sold for Rs 39.9 crores. Photo: Saffronart
In March 2021, another painting of the Indo-Hungarian painter, who is regarded as ‘India’s Frida Kahlo’, made an appearance at the Christie’s ‘South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art’ auction. The artwork called ‘Portrait of Denyse’ (1932) is of her close friend and French art critic Denyse Proutaux. It is only one of four known portraits of Proutaux, and the only one to be in private ownership. Photo: Christie’s
Some of Sher-Gil's most famous works are portraits of people in her life, including her husband Victor Egan. In December 2020, the Indian painter’s ‘Portrait of Victor Egan’ (1939) fetched Rs 10.86 crore at AstaGuru’s Modern Indian Art online auction. The portrait is said to have piqued interest because of that personal attachment to the artist -- it depicts her husband, who was a Hungarian army doctor in his uniform, holding a cigar. Photo: AstaGuru
Amrita Sher-Gil, who passed away almost 80 years, was known for having painted many self-portraits. Among the many, her self-portrait from 1931, when she was 18 years of age, was also the first of her paintings to be on sale in London. A man looks at a self-portrait of Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil, painted in 1931, during the annual ‘South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art Sale’ preview at Christie's auction house in London on June 5, 2015. Photo: AFP
Known to have spent most of her formative years in Hungary, Sher-Gil's work also includes one of a Hungarian village church in Zebegény, where the painter spent some of her holidays at her mother’s youngest sister’s house. Here Amrita Sher-Gil's ‘Untitled-Hungarian Village Church’ (right) is pictured during a media preview ahead of Christie's first auction in India, in New Delhi on December 6, 2013. Christie's auction house held its first ever auction-sale in Mumbai on December 19 in 2013. Photo: AFP
