Expensive Art! Amrita Sher-Gil's 'The Story Teller' Sets Auction Record; Artwork Sold For ₹61.8 Crores

Expensive painting! In a recent art auction, Amrita Sher-Gil's painting "The Story Teller" became the most expensive Indian artwork sold at an auction, fetching a staggering Rs 61.8 crore ($7.1 million).

Sher-Gil's "The Story Teller" is an exceptional artwork that explores the realm of domestic life.

The aucion was organised by an auction house named-SaffronArt on Saturday night, featured around 70 artworks by renowned artists like MF Husain, VS Gaitonde, Jamini Roy, and FS Souza.

Before this, Sayed Haider Raza's painting "Gestation" held the record, having been sold for Rs 51.75 crore just a month ago.

"The Story Teller," created in 1937, is one of Amrita Sher-Gil's most significant works. It portrays women, a common theme in her art, reflecting her compassionate nature. The painting was first displayed in a solo exhibition in Lahore in 1937.

Who is Amrita Sher-Gil?

Amrita Sher-Gil was a celebrated avant-garde woman painter, born in Budapest in 1913 to an Indian father and Hungarian mother. She began painting at a young age and settled in India in 1921, where she honed her skills by observing and sketching people around her.

Her early artworks mostly include vibrant illustrations of Hungarian fairytales in watercolor and the later ones about domestic life in India.

Tragically, she passed away at just 28 years old in 1941.

In 1976, the Archaeological Survey of India recognized her as one of India's nine 'National Art Treasure' artists.

Other Records Broken

The auction also saw other records broken, such as KK Hebbar's 1959 untitled artwork selling for Rs 2.64 crore, Sayed Haider Raza's "Earth" going for Rs 19.2 crore, Tyeb Mehta's "Red Figure" for Rs 9 lakh, and FN Souza's "Caribbean Palm" for Rs 4.56 crore.