Celebrating The 110th Birth Anniversary of Amrita Sher-Gil At NGMA

Smriti Malhotra

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) hosted a grand evening on 31st March 23 in collaboration with designer Ritu Beri to commemorate the 110th birth anniversary of Amrita Sher-Gil. The Liszt Institute of Hungarian Cultural Center and the Museo Camera Center for Photographic Arts collaborated on the event’s planning. The gala was also attended by Ms Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Culture.

CRPF Women’s Band and rifle Drill Demonstration at the Inaugural Event. Courtesy: (NGMA)

The evening began with a rifle drill demonstration by the CRPF women personnel. Praising the excellent coordination of the para-military band, Ms Lekhi stated that the freedom struggle of the country was successful with the contribution of women in key roles. Indian women are achieving great success in science, technology, arts, crafts, painting, and culture, she continued.

“Today we rightly want to showcase what Indian women stand for, and what Indian women represent. Even in the pre-independence era, Amrita Sher-Gil found a place and space in the hearts of Indians. And thus, she is treasured very much here at NGMA,” the minister said.

CRPF Women’s Band and rifle Drill Demonstration at the Inaugural Event. Courtesy:National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) — Self-portrait, by Amrita Sher-Gil
Courtesy:(NGMA)

Ms Beri, a renowned Indian designer also unveiled a new collection which is inspired by Sher-Gil’s style and art.

Amrita Sher-Gil was born to an Indian father and a Hungarian mother on January 30, 1913, in Budapest, Hungary. Her famous artworks including “Group of Three Girls” (1935), “Bride’s Toilet” (1937), “Gypsy Girl”(1932), “Brahmacharis” (1937), and “Young Girls” (1932) are all in NGMA’s collection.

In September of this year, a group of Indo-Hungarian artists will honour Sher-Gils’ life and accomplishments as part of the year-long festival by creating graffiti and street art in the Lodhi Art District. The Liszt Institute shall also visit a school in Delhi every month to lecture and talk about Sher-Gil’s contribution to Indian art through storytelling, photography and painting workshops. Besides this, documentaries on Sher-Gil shall be screened from June to October as a part of the Amrita 110 Film Festival.