An auction on September 16, 2023 held at The Oberoi, New Delhi, created a new record for Indian contemporary art. An Amrita Sher-Gil painting titled The Story Teller, signed and dated 1937, fetched a staggering ₹61.8 crore, becoming the most expensive painting by an Indian artist, to be sold in an auction, ever. It surpassed Sayed Haider Raza’s Gestation, which was sold for ₹51.75 crore, merely ten days earlier.
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Amrita Sher-Gil is perhaps the most renowned female artist from India. Here are three stories from her short-lived life:
>Early Life and Background: Amrita Sher-Gil was born on January 30, 1913, in Budapest, Hungary. She was the elder of two daughters of a Hungarian mother, Marie Antoniette Gottesmann, and a Sikh father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil.
>Artistic Training: Sher-Gil’s family moved to India when she was a child, and she began her formal art education in Shimla and later in Lahore. At 16, she entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where she was influenced by the work of Paul Cézanne, Amedeo Modigliani, and Paul Gauguin.
>Tragic Death: Amrita Sher-Gil’s life was tragically cut short when she passed away at the young age of 28 in 1941. Her legacy continues to thrive, and her works are highly sought after by collectors and art enthusiasts around the world. In 1976, the Indian government declared her works to be national treasures, recognizing their cultural significance.