Amrita Sher-Gil, an eminent painter, loved to pose for the camera. Her father, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, was an amateur photographer. And so began a silent dialogue that scripted Amrita’s life from her birth to her becoming one of the most sought after artists. An exhibition of photographs by Umrao Singh Sher-Gil on Amrita’s years in Hungary between 1913 and 1939, Amrita Sher-Gil — The Magyar Connection, is on at Hungarian Information and Culture Centre.
“These photos has been preserved by the family for years now. So when we thought of doing something special on the 100th birth anniversary of Amrita, holding an exhibition of these photos seemed just appropriate,” says the curator of the exhibition and Amrita’s niece Navina Sundaram.
The photo series is divided into three parts. In December 1912, Umrao’s wife Marie Antoinette Gottesmann Erdöbaktay had Amrita in Budapest. “After the First World War broke out the family got stuck in Budapest. So, Umrao Sher-Gil took out his camera and started clicking. Umrao liked to capture his family members and Amrita was his favourite model,” says Navina.
Umrao was an exceptional man who loved art, says Navina. “He was a Sanskrit scholar and loved his family, especially Amrita,” says Navina. Four-year-old Amrita sitting with her mother, at the age of five she is seen wrapped in a sari and at a tender age of seven a photo shows her making drawings based on Hungarian fairy tales.
The second series was clicked from 1929 to 1934 in Europe. “During these years, when she studied art at Lucien Simon’s studio at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Amrita always spent her holidays in Hungary,” says Navina. “As she became bold in her approach there was initial defiance from her father,” says Navina. She continues, “Though he always liked her talent, he used to jokingly refer to her bold artworks as ‘your horrors’,” laughs Navina.
Some of Amrita’s early sketches are also at display at the exhibition.
The third series from 1939 to 1941 are glimpses of happy times post her marriage with her first cousin Victor Egan. Be it with Amrita enjoying the pool side or having a good time with friends near pool side many such insights into the painter’s life make for a visual treat.
The exhibition will be on till March 1 at Hungarian Information and Culture Centre