Rare Amrita Sher-Gil self-portrait at auction

A rare self-portrait of Amrita Sher-Gil that she painted at the tender age of 14 will go under the hammer at DAG Modern's upcoming 20th Century Indian Art Auction on April 24 here.
The sale features an extensive selection of 75 lots comprising the best paintings and sculptures of the 20th century, including works by masters like Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Abanindranath Tagore, M F Husain, S H Raza, F N Souza, V S Gaitonde, and K G Subramanyan among others.
Painted in an academic style, Sher-Gil's 1927 Untitled portrait on graphite on paper pasted on rice paper is a National Art Treasure.

Also among the highlights is Husain's 'Maya III', a figurative work from the early 1970s inspired by Indian temple sculpture. The rendering of the female body in the tribhanga pose also throws light on the connection between the rich temple art and classical dancing traditions of India.
Raza's 1959 work 'Peinture' features an explosion of colour and residual hints of form, that mark his departure from landscapes into the world of abstract, making it an important bridge to his structured style to come.
"DAG Modern has chosen to present the works thematically, which allows for contextualisation of artists who have worked in a similar genre and help potential bidders make an informed decision.

"Some of the themes are, 'The body beautiful' which highlights the Indian figure in art or 'Of Things Glimpsed' which looks at landscapes and still-life works," the gallery said.

Other highlights of the sale include folk-style works by Jamini Roy and Nandalal Bose's exquisite painting of a lotus that stands out for its delicacy.
The Bombay Presidency artists such as M V Dhurandhar and L N Taskar also feature with remarkable works on religious themes, besides Krishen Khanna's brilliant early work of abstraction, Ram Kumar's abstract landscape and K H Ara's combination of still-life and landscape.
Modernist masters like J P Gangooly, K K Hebbar and Indra Dugar are showcased with an array of landscapes and still- lifes.

An A A Raiba work also finds place in the collection, along with Manjit Bawa, Shanti Dave, A Ramachandran, R D Raval, P T Reddy, G R Santosh, Sohan Qadri, Somnath Hore and J Swaminathan, who are featured with significant works in their recognisable styles.