This is a list of paintings by Hungarian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil (1913–1941).Sundaram, pp. 796–811 Over 60 of her paintings, of which most were portraits and self-portraits, were created between 1930 and 1932 in Hungary and France.Dalmia, pp. 31-32 19 were self-portraits painted in Europe between 1930 and 1934, and two, including one in a blue sari, were later completed in India. Several of her paintings were of nudes; some of herself and others based on models of which most were female.Sundaram, pp. 72–79
1929-1933
In her early years, Sher-Gil was a frequent visitor to Zebegény, in Hungary. There she painted a church in 1932, and would several years later paint other views of the village including Winter and the Merry Cemetery. The early 1930s were also the years she worked at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, painted mostly family and colleagues, and won awards at the annual competitions for portrait and still life for three years in a row. In the summer of 1932, she submitted six paintings to the "end of year concours", Paris, for which she received second mention in her capacity as foreigner. The six included Violins, Nude Self-Portrait with Palette, and Young Girls. In her words, "my work in those days was absolutely Western in conception and execution except for the fact that it was never entirely tame or conventional".
1933-1934 Sher-Gil later wrote that "towards the end of 1933 I began to be haunted by an intense longing to return to India, feeling in some strange inexplicable way that there lay my destiny as a painter". She subsequently painted Self-Portrait as a Tahitian in early 1934, while still in Paris.
Late 1934-1935
Sher-Gil returned to India in late 1934, with 60 of her oil paintings. Then, she produced View from Majithia House, The Little Girl in Blue and Three Girls.Sundaram, pp. vi–xliii In September 1935, five of her 10 submitted paintings were shown at the 63rd annual Simla Fine Arts Exhibition, opened by Viceroy Lord Willingdon. Those exhibited included Portrait of Father, Mother India, then known as Beggar Woman, Woman with Sunflower, then called Indian Peasant Woman, and Young Girls, then titled Conversation. The Man in White, The Woman in Blue, The Model, Portrait of Malcolm Muggeridge, and a small landscape were rejected. Feeling that they did not recognise the best of her work, she declined the Raja of Faridkot's prize the judges awarded her for Young Girls.
1936 In March 1936, Sher-Gil won awards for two self-portraits at the fifth annual exhibition of the All-India Fine Arts Society, held at The Imperial, New Delhi.Sundaram, p. 234 Barada Ukil included 11 of Sher-Gil's works in his arts exhibition at The Cecil, Simla, held in September 1936.Sundaram, pp. 246–247 These included Portrait of Mr. F. M. Khan, A Village Scene, Mother India, Composition, The Dreamer, and The Girl in Red. In December 1936, Sher-Gil's work was displayed at the exhibition hall in the Public Gardens, Hyderabad.Sundaram, pp. 266–270 There, the wealthy art collector, Nawab Salar Jung, showed interest in two paintings, was offered three, then declined to purchase any.Sundaram, pp. 271–285
1937
In October 1937, Sher-Gil painted her plein-air series, which included her first paintings with animals, one of which was The Story.Dalmia, pp. 98–100 From 21 to 27 November that year, 33 of her works were displayed at her solo exhibition at Faletti's Hotel in Lahore, British India. There, she revealed her first two Indian compositions, The Story and Siesta.Sundaram, pp. 418–421 At Lahore, four paintings were sold in total; The Little Girl in Blue, The Story, Pink Self-portrait, and the Vina Player.Sundaram, pp. 430–431 She wrote that "with the eternal significance of form and colour I interpret India and, principally, the life of the Indian poor on the plane that transcends the plane of mere sentimental interest".
1938-1939 In 1938 five of Sher-Gil's paintings were exhibited at the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society's exhibition in Delhi, and included Elephants Bathing in a Green Pool (1938), Composition (1936), and View from Studio (1934), which won the prize. In the same year she married Viktor Egan in Hungary, and there painted Two Girls among others. Returning to India in 1939, she moved to Saraya, Uttar Pradesh, and there her creations included Woman on Charpoy, Elephant Promenade, The Ancient Story Teller, and Haldi Grinders. The dome of the family's estate features in the background of some of these, though she omits the Saraya Sugar Mills and its chimneys and smoke.
1940s In 1940, six of Sher-Gil's works were displayed at the Indian Academy of Fine Arts' Amritsar Exhibition (31 October – 10 November), to raise money for the War Fund. These included Siesta, Sleep, Elephant Promenade, Elephants, The Swing, and the winning piece, The Ancient Story Teller. Sher-Gil died at midnight on 5 December 1941, leaving The Last Unfinished Painting at Lahore.
Legacy By 1948, the Indian government had acquired 98 of Sher-Gil's paintings. Following her father's death, several paintings of hers were saved by Hungarian-Indian social worker Fori Nehru.Dalmia, p. 36 The art restorer, Rupika Chawla, found several of Sher-Gil's paintings to have been altered by Sher-Gil herself.Dalmia, pp. 204–205 These include Siesta, Woman Holding Fan, and Hillside. In 1979 her works including Camels and Ancient Story Teller, were displayed at an exhibition in New delhi, organised by the Budapest Kunsthalle.
Under India's Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (1972), formed in accordance with the UNESCO 1970 Convention to regulate the internal and external dealing in antiquities in India, the Archaeological Survey of India in 1976 and 1979, named Sher-Gil's works as Indian treasure that if sold in India, cannot leave the country. Of the at least 143 listed paintings created by Sher-Gil, most are held by her relatives, and 44 of the 45 paintings that belonged to Viktor Egan and some paintings that were with her father, were donated to the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
Paintings (1930)
+ ImageTitle Collection DimensionsTechniqueNotes :Seated Nude in ProfileWhereabouts unknownPainted in Paris.:Young Girl in ProfileWhereabouts unknownPainted in Paris.:Male TorsoNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art62 × 94 cmOil on canvasHer only male nude, originally titled Back Study:Sitting NudeNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art66 × 91.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Old Man with BeardWhereabouts unknownPainted at La Baule, France:Brown GirlWhereabouts unknown.Painted in Paris.:Self-Portrait 6New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art58 × 79 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Amrita Sher-Gil Self-Portrait 7New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art47.4 × 70.2 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris Depicts Sher-Gil with a shoulderless dress and loose hair.Dalmia, p. 54:Self-Portrait 8New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art53 × 82.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Self-Portrait 9New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art49 × 65.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Portrait of MotherPrivate collection.49 × 65 cmOil on canvasCompleted in Paris.:Portrait of My SisterPrivate collection55.8 × 78.7 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Self-Portrait with EaselPrivate Collection82.5× 90.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris, it depicts a three-quarter Sher-Gil draped in red, in front of an easel.:Self-Portrait with Red BackgroundPrivate collectionSundaram, p. 79857 × 90 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.Sundaram, p. 78:PortraitNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art61.5 × 74.3 cmOil on canvasOne of the earliest portraits Sher-Gil completed of Boris Taslitzky in Paris.Sundaram, pp. 98–99
It won a prize in 1931, at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris.
Also known as Portrait of a Young Man.:Boris TaslitzkyOne of several portraits Sher-Gil completed of Boris Taslitzky in Paris.:Madam TaslitskyNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art54 × 79 cmOil on canvasPortrait of Boris's mother, painted in Paris.Sundaram, pp. 98–99
Mme Taslitsky later died in a concentration camp.
Paintings (1931)
+ ImageTitle Collection DimensionsTechniqueNotes :Self-Portrait 1New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art48 × 58.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Self-Portrait 2New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art44.5 × 59.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Self-Portrait 3New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art47.6 × 62.3 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Self-Portrait 4New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art48 × 63.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Self-Portrait with Red FlowerEvelyn Taslitzky's collection, Paris.42 × 56 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Woman's BackExhibited at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1932.
Later known as Torso.:Yusuf Ali KhanNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art 45 × 53 cmOil on canvasAt the encouragement of her mother, Sher-Gil was briefly engaged to aristocrat Yusuf Ali Khan, and painted his portrait in Paris.Dalmia, pp. 34–35:Amrita Sher-Gil Self-PortraitPrivate collection. 65.1 × 54 cmOil on canvasCompleted in Paris. In 2015 it was sold for £1.7 million at auction in London.:Victor EganPainted in Hungary.Sundaram, pp. 60–61
Egan refers to this portrait as "a stupid picture of me".:Alfred CortotNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art 44 × 30 cmPastel on paperDepicts Alfred Cortot:Portrait of a Young WomanNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art 32 × 42.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:ViolinsNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art 59 × 82 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris. One of six paintings submitted to the "end of year concours" in summer 1932.:Woman in Blue CoatPrivate collectionSundaram, p. 79948 × 66 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Girl in MauveNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art36 × 53.7 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris. Also known as Girl in Mauve 2.Sundaram, p. 166:Village Scene in HungaryPrivate collection.42 × 63 cmOil on canvasPainted in Hungary.:Dressing TableNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art75.5 × 62 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.
Paintings (1932)
+ ImageTitle Collection DimensionsTechniqueNotes Portrait of a Parisian Lady:Torso New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art62 × 83 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.Sundaram, p. 392:Self-Portrait 5New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art43 × 54.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Adam and EveNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art38.7 × 52.1 cmOil on canvasSundaram, p. 801:Still Life with Green Bottles and ApplesPrivate collectionSundaram, p. 79737 × 54.5 cmOil on canvasPainted in Paris.:Nude Self-Portrait with PaletteWhereabouts unknownSundaram, pp. 80–85Possibly "my nude" that Sher-Gil submitted to the "end of year concours" in summer 1932.:Self-Portrait in Green DressPrivate collection51 × 60.5 cmOil on canvasCompleted in Paris.Sundaram, p.86:Self-Portrait in GreenPrivate collection64.8 × 90 cmOil on canvasCompleted in Paris around June 1932, and described by Sher-Gil as "a very good self-portrait".:Department StoreNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art49.5 × 62 cmOil on canvasLikely the store called Printemps that she took a sketch of in June 1932.Sundaram, pp. 76–79:The Blue DanubeWhereabouts unknownPainted in Hungary.:Hungarian Gypsy GirlNew Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art81.3 × 52.7 cmOil on canvasOne of two paintings of the same girl who posed for Sher-Gil in old clothes, completed in the summer of 1932 in Zebegény.
Ella Szepessy, Sher-Gil's maternal aunt, lived in a villa on the Zebegény hillside.:Gypsy Girl from ZebegényPrivate collectionSundaram, p. 800 41 × 62 cmOil on canvasOne of two paintings of the same girl who posed for Sher-Gil in old clothes, completed in the summer of 1932 in Zebegény.