Amrita Sher-Gil

Amrita Sher-Gil’s greatest achievement was that she liberated Indian art from a state of utter stagnation. Born in Budapest of a Hungarian mother and an Indian father, she spent the first eight years of her life in that city. This vividly written biography traces her childhood years in Hungary and then in India: a brief sojourn in Florence and her years in Paris where she gained her notoriety. As an artist she divined her destiny to be in India. She returned to celebrate her creativity as much as to face the frustrations of a pioneer who eventually did find recognition in India. At the time this book was published, 1984, there was very little recorded material about the life and art of Amrita Sher-Gil. This book is unique in that it was written by someone who actually knew Amrita and spent personal time with her as a close friend. The book is based on his own personal accounts and interviews with family members and other close friends. The book is written in 18 chapters beginning with "Lineage and Childhood" and ending with "The Tragic End" (I have to admit that I read the last chapter first because I wanted to really know what happened to her). In the center of the book are 24 pages of black/white images: photographs, letters, and a few of her drawings and paintings. Near the end of the book are 29 full color, but small, plates of her paintings. The book is full of details about her life and is easy reading…no dictionary or thesaurus needed for this one…great reading for reader's whose primary language is not English. The flow of the timeline was a bit confusing for me….it's not written in a clear chronological order…it's more event driven. Scattered throughout the book is also some interesting historical facts about India and its political turmoil and how it affected the Sher-Gil family. This is probably the best book in terms of biographical information….not the greatest if you are looking for photos or images of her works. It's interesting that there is another book, "Amrita Sher-Gil - A Life" that was just recently published in 2006. This new book is VERY similar in format and content….right down to identically lines of text. Apparently the copyright expired on the 1984 edition and text from that book appears in the 2006 edition. The 1984 version is VERY difficult to find but the 2006 edition is readily available through Amazon.com. If you're more interested in seeing her works and photos then I recommend "Amrita Sher-Gil An Indian Artist Family of the Twentieth Century" ...however I didn't think much of the biographical material in that book….but it is the best book for the plates.