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  National Gallery of Modern Art

  Jaipur House, India

  101 works

  

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Plan your visit to see Amrita Sher-Gil →

• What is Amrita Sher-Gil known for?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil is known as one of the creators of modern Indian art. She is particularly remembered for the paintings she made after returning to India in 1934^[2], where she sought to depict the lives of Indians, especially the poor.
• What is Amrita Sher-Gil's most famous work?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil (1913^[2]-1941^[2]) is known as a creator of modern Indian art. Born in Budapest to a Sikh father and a Hungarian-Jewish mother, she moved to India at age nine. She studied art in Florence and Paris, where she was inspired by Postimpressionist painters such as Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. In 1933^[2], Sher-Gil's painting *Young Girls* (also known as *Group of Three Girls*) won a gold medal at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She was the youngest student, and the only Asian artist, to receive this award. The painting features her sister Indira and a friend. Some have interpreted the work as representing different sides of Sher-Gil’s personality. After returning to India in 1934, Sher-Gil sought to blend Western painting methods with Indian subjects and colours. Her painting *Young Girls* was awarded a Gold Medal at the annual exhibition of the Bombay Art Society three years later. This helped to establish her as one of India’s most celebrated modern artists.
• What should I know about Amrita Sher-Gil's prints?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil (1913^[2]-1941^[2]) was an important Indian painter. Although she died at only 28, her work is recognised today. Sher-Gil combined European and Indian styles. Sher-Gil's paintings are not widely available as prints. The scarcity is due to copyright restrictions and the limited number of original works. Much of her work is held in museums or private collections. Prints of Sher-Gil's work are often giclée reproductions. These use high-resolution digital scans of original paintings. The giclée method provides accurate colour and detail. Authorised prints are produced with the permission of rights holders, often museums or Sher-Gil's estate. These reproductions aim to offer access to her art for a wider audience, while maintaining quality. When acquiring a Sher-Gil print, verify its source. Look for authentication from a reputable publisher or institution. This ensures you are purchasing a legitimate reproduction, not an unauthorised copy. The value of a print depends on its quality, rarity, and provenance.
• What style or movement did Amrita Sher-Gil belong to?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil, who died in 1941^[2], is regarded as an important influence on the development of modernism within India. Although the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) in Bombay, founded in 1947, fully embraced modernism, Sher-Gil's earlier work in the 1930s was certainly influential for them. The PAG included artists such as Maqbool Fida Husain, Francis Newton Souza, and Tyeb Mehta. The PAG's use of the concept of "progressive" came a full decade after the founding of the Progressive Writers Association. The PAG is characterised above all by its engagement with transnational modernism rather than with concern for programmatic social consciousness. Shakir Ali, after seeing an exhibition of Sher-Gil's in Delhi, decided to become an artist. Zubeida Agha was also deeply inspired by the paintings of Sher-Gil, whose unconventional life and art had become the stuff of legend upon her early death.
• What techniques or materials did Amrita Sher-Gil use?+

  Artists have always used a variety of materials in their work. Traditional painting materials include natural pigments, chemical pigments, fresco, egg tempera, watercolour, and oil. More contemporary materials include acrylics, household emulsions, and mixed media. Mixed media describes the use of a range of different materials all in one work. Oil paint can be applied thickly in impasto or thinly in glazes. Brushwork may be fine, disguised, or thickly applied with a palette knife. When using pencils, artists can employ hatching, crosshatching, dark shading, gradating, blending, and shading with texture. Hatching involves filling an area with a series of parallel strokes; the closer the strokes, the darker the tone. For darker shading, layers of parallel strokes can be placed on top of one another at varying angles. Acrylic paint can be diluted with water to create a flat wash, using light, overlapping, horizontal strokes.
• What was Amrita Sher-Gil known for?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil (born 1913^[2]; died 1941^[2]) is known for her fusion of Western and Indian artistic styles. Educated in Paris, she was exposed to European painting techniques and modern art movements. However, she chose to return to India to find her artistic voice. Sher-Gil sought to depict Indian life and culture through her paintings. She moved away from Western academic styles, developing a unique style that combined elements of post-Impressionism and Indian artistic traditions. Her work often featured portraits of women, village scenes, and depictions of everyday life in India. Although her career was short, due to her early death at age 28, Sher-Gil is considered an important figure in the history of modern Indian art. Her paintings are recognised for their bold use of colour and their sensitive portrayal of Indian subjects. She aimed to represent India and its people with authenticity.
• When did Amrita Sher-Gil live and work?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil was born on 30 January 1913^[2] in Budapest, Hungary. Her father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Majithia, was a Sikh aristocrat and scholar, while her mother, Marie Antoinette Gottesmann, was a Hungarian-Jewish opera singer. Sher-Gil began formal art training at the age of eight. In 1924^[2], her family moved to Italy, where she enrolled at the Santa Annunziata School of Art in Florence. Later, in 1929, she moved to Paris and studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and then at the École des Beaux-Arts. Sher-Gil returned to India in 1934. She travelled extensively across the country, seeking inspiration from Indian art and culture. Her work from this period often depicted the lives of ordinary people, particularly women. Some of her most recognised paintings, such as "The Bride's Toilet" (1937) and "Village Scene" (1938), date from this time. In 1941^[2], Sher-Gil moved to Lahore (then part of British India, now in Pakistan). She died there on 5 December 1941, at the age of 28.
• Where can I see Amrita Sher-Gil's work?+

  Unfortunately, the provided references do not contain specific information about where to view works by Amrita Sher-Gil. However, many major museums around the world feature collections of modern and contemporary art. You may find examples of her work in institutions such as: Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney) Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) Museum of Modern Art (New York) Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) Victoria & Albert Museum (London) Checking the online collections catalogues of major museums may be a useful way to discover where Sher-Gil's works are held. Please note that museum collections are subject to change, and works may not always be on display.
• Where was Amrita Sher-Gil from?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1913^[2]. Her father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Majithia, was a Sikh aristocrat and scholar. Her mother, Marie Antoinette Gottesmann, was a Hungarian-Jewish opera singer. Sher-Gil spent her early childhood in Hungary. In 1921^[2], her family moved to Simla, India (now Shimla). She began formal art training at the age of eight. In 1929, she moved to Paris to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. Sher-Gil returned to India in 1934, seeking to depict Indian life through her art. She travelled extensively throughout the country, particularly favouring depictions of the Punjab. Sher-Gil died in Lahore in 1941^[2].
• Who influenced Amrita Sher-Gil?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil's artistic development involved several influences, both Western and Indian. During her time in Paris (from 1929^[2]), she was exposed to Post-Impressionism. Artists like Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin impacted her early style. Their use of colour and form is apparent in her paintings from this period. Her return to India in 1934 marked a shift in her artistic direction. She sought inspiration in Indian art history, particularly the Mughal and Pahari schools of painting. The colours and compositions of these traditions began to appear in her work. She was also interested in the lives of ordinary people in India. This is evident in paintings such as "Village Scene" (1937) and "The Bride's Toilet" (1937). Sher-Gil admired the Bengal School of Art, but she also critiqued what she viewed as its sentimentality. Instead, she aimed to create a more authentic and modern representation of Indian subjects. Her engagement with both European modernism and Indian artistic traditions shaped her unique style.
• Who was Amrita Sher-Gil?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil (1913^[2]-1941^[2]) was a Hungarian-Indian painter, considered a creator of modern Indian art. Born in Budapest, she moved to northern India with her family at the age of nine, where she began learning to draw and paint. Sher-Gil later studied art in Italy and France. At 16, she trained in Paris at the Académie de la Grande-Chaumière and the École des Beaux-Arts. She was the youngest, and only Asian, student to win a gold medal at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Her early work was influenced by French Post-Impressionist painters such as Gauguin and Cézanne. After finishing her training, Sher-Gil returned to India. She travelled extensively, observing people and drawing inspiration from Mughal and Pahari miniature painting, as well as the Ajanta and Ellora cave paintings. She aimed to interpret the lives of Indians, particularly the poor, in her work, using colours such as reds, ochres, browns, blues and greens. In 1937^[2], her painting was awarded a Gold Medal at the annual exhibition of the Bombay Art Society. Sher-Gil died at the age of 28, possibly from poisoning.
• Why are Amrita Sher-Gil's works important today?+

  Amrita Sher-Gil (1913^[2]-1941^[2]) was an important figure in 20th-century Indian art. Her paintings are significant for their synthesis of European and Indian artistic traditions. Sher-Gil trained in Paris during the 1930s; she was influenced by Post-Impressionist painters such as Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. After returning to India in 1934^[2], Sher-Gil sought to represent Indian subjects and themes in her work. She moved away from purely Western styles, developing a distinctive approach that combined elements of both. Her paintings often depict the daily lives of women in rural India, portraying them with sensitivity and empathy. Sher-Gil's work is important because it challenged prevailing artistic norms in India. She rejected academic realism and idealised representations, instead embracing a more modern and expressive style. Her paintings also addressed social issues, such as the status of women and the impact of colonialism. She has become an icon of modern Indian art, inspiring generations of artists. Her early death at the age of 28 cut short a promising career, but her artistic contributions continue to be celebrated.