New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) An upcoming book, “Amrita & Victor”, explores the love story between avant-garde artist Amrita Sher-Gil and her husband Victor Egan.
The book, based on archival evidence, aims to bring out the truth of the “misconstrued relationship” the Hungarian-Indian painter shared with Egan who was also her first cousin.
Published by Fingerprint and written by journalist-author Ashwini Bhatnagar, it is scheduled to release later this month.
“Amrita’s life was avant-garde art, and her art was avant-garde life… In the middle of her artistic storm was her lover-husband Victor Egan, the true emotional axis around which her life revolved.
“Victor was a liberal modern lover and husband, a real sensitive new-age guy who abetted her experiments with life and colours. The book profiles his exceptional understanding of Amrita in all its detail,” said Bhatnagar in a statement.
Born to Indian father and Hungarian mother on January 30, 1913 in Budapest, Hungary, Sher-Gil came to known as one of the greatest avant-garde women artists for her oeuvre.
She is well-known for her melancholic portraits of women, including “Three Girls”, “Women on the charpai”, “Hill Women”, “Young Girls”.
The book engages with Sher-Gil’s taboo relationship with her first cousin, their heady romance during the teenage years, the eventual marriage, despite stiff parental opposition, and ends with her death under questionable circumstances when she was barely 28-years- old.
Besides the love story, Bhatnagar also paints the landscape which propelled Sher-Gil’s meteoric rise as the finest artist India has produced in the last 100 years.
According to the publishers, while many books have been written about Amrita Sher-Gill and her art, none have been written about her and Victor Egan exclusively.
“This nuanced and sensitive account of their life is meant to reach a wider audience who might not know of their eventful, extraordinary life,” said Shantanu Duttagupta, executive publisher at Fingerprint. PTI MG MAH MAH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
