Amrita Sher-Gil’s painting breaks record for the most expensive Indian artwork ever sold

The Hungarian-Indian painter Sher-Gil is one of the greatest avant-garde painters of the early 20th century. Her painting “The Story Teller” is among the 70 plus art pieces by eminent artists including MF Husain, VS Gaitonde, Jamini Roy and FS Souza, featured in the auction.

Sold last month at Pundole’s auction house in Mumbai at ₹51.75 crore, Raza’s 1989 “Gestation” became the second most expensive Indian artwork ever sold.

“We are delighted to have set multiple artist records at our Evening Sale in New Delhi this September,” said Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and co-founder of Saffronart in a press statement. “Most significantly, the record price achieved by Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘The Story Teller’ is an important milestone in the Indian art market and a testament to the artist’s immense skill and enduring legacy as one of India’s art treasures,” he added.

“The Story Teller” — touted to be one of Sher-Gil’s most important works, is a perfect example of the artist’s raw and expressive compositions.

The Evening Sale also achieved #worldrecords for ‘The Story Teller’, 1937, by Amrita Sher-Gil, which sold for Rs 61.8 crore, making it the highest value achieved for a work by the #artist in #auction worldwide and the most expensive #Indian #artwork sold in auction globally. pic.twitter.com/0MVbP0Uvbn

— Saffronart (@Saffronart) September 18, 2023

The dominant themes for the renowned artist are primarily women as she could most easily relate to their condition. Her other well-known portraits of women are “Three Girls”, “Women on the Charpai”, “Hill Women, and “Young Girls”.

Born in Budapest to an Indian father and a Hungarian mother, Sher-Gil showed a pique interest in painting and drawing at the mere age of five. In her early works using watercolours, she showcases the vibrant illustrations of Hungarian fairy tales with vivid characters.

In 1921, the Sher-Gil family returned to India and settled in Shimla. Sher-Gil died in 1941, at the young age of 28.

Her distinct style of painting and meticulous sketches is a part of her enduring legacy, which has lasted generations. In 1976, she was posthumously declared one of India’s nine “National Art Treasure” artists by the Archaeological Survey of India.

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