Important Notice

Meera Mukherjee was one of the most significant women artists of her time. Her sculptures focus on ordinary folk through the contemplation of everyday moments in their lives. The result is a kind of transformed traditional art, at once both modern and timeless. Mukherjee's work conveys a deep spiritual bond to her roots, her history and culture.

Mukherjee's artistic education was varied and wide-ranging, and continued long after her... Meera Mukherjee was one of the most significant women artists of her time. Her sculptures focus on ordinary folk through the contemplation of everyday moments in their lives. The result is a kind of transformed traditional art, at once both modern and timeless. Mukherjee's work conveys a deep spiritual bond to her roots, her history and culture.

Mukherjee's artistic education was varied and wide-ranging, and continued long after her formal studies were completed. After attending art classes at the Society of Oriental Art from the age of 14, she joined the Delhi Polytechnic in 1947, from where she received a diploma in paintings, graphics and sculpture. This was followed by a brief stint working for the renowned Indonesian painter Affandi, who was at that time a guest of the state living and working at Santiniketan. In 1953, Mukherjee went to study painting in Munich, although she switched to sculpture after one term.

When she returned from Europe, Mukherjee began to explore the traditions of Indian metal- working, and with the help of a small stipend from the Anthropological Survey of India travelled the country researching traditional metal casting techniques. During this time she apprenticed with Bastar sculptors in Madhya Pradesh, where she learnt the traditional Dhokra method of casting - also known as cire perdue or lost wax casting - a technique that has existed in India for nearly 4,500 years. Mukherjee invented her own process for casting, first sculpting the work in wax, then building it up and adding surface decoration using wax strips and rolls. This technique creates the unusual finish that is characteristic of her sculptures. In spite of being cast in bronze, they are delicate and organic, as can be observed in the details of the foliage of the tree in the present lot.

It is a dedication to the craft that lies at the heart of Mukherjee's evocative and intricately detailed sculptures. Through her attention to detail, she immortalises ordinary figures, including fishermen, boatmen, weavers, women sewing, commuters on a crowded bus, and labourers laying cables and carrying earth. Among the artist's favoured motifs is the sacred Banyan tree, survivor of Shiva's dance of death and shelter for the meditating Buddha, employed by Mukherjee as a symbol of life and enlightenment. Speaking about a Meera Mukherjee show she curated in 2012, Ina Puri, stated, "Her bronzes celebrated the human figure, drawing out the inner emotions of the people she brought alive in her sculptures." (online, "Sculptures of Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998) by Akar Prakar", India PRwire, New Delhi, 6 January 2012) The metalworkers hard at work beneath the sheltering tree in the present lot are imbued with a sense of soul and spirit that embodies all of Mukherjee's work.

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