Premalya Singh (Indian, 1929-2017), Girl with a Waterbird I, terracotta sculpture, 30.5cm. high Provenance: Private London Collection acquired directly from the artist Sculptor Premalya Singh was born in 1929, and lived and worked in New Delhi. Her bronze and terracotta sculptures evoke figurative traditions, yet are uncompromisingly spare and contemporary. Art critic Suneet Chopra has said her work "reminds one of that great breed of contemporary Indian sculptors from Ramkinkar Baij to Somenath Hore and Meera Mukherjee," (Metal and Clay, exhibition catalogue, Nov. 9-15th, 1994, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, p. 2). Even as a child in the North-West Frontier Province, Premalya was interested in art, especially sculpture. After Partition, she went to Kala Bhavan, Shanti Niketan, 1949-51, then studied in what is now the Delhi College of Art. She was fortunate to work under the guidance of some of India’s great modern masters, Nandlal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij, Dhanraj Bhagat, Sudhir Khastagir, BC Sanyal and Biren De. Her work takes simple subjects drawn from life around her, such as boys at play, performers, pilgrims and just people. These beautiful studies are distinct individuals rather than types or symbols. Yet the figures are captured in moments of being – joy, repose and utter self-forgetfulness – that allow them to transcend time and place. Sometimes she draws her inspiration from classical Indian literature such as her series on Geet Govinda, the 12th century poem that celebrates the love of Krishna and Radha. Singh’s work is in collections at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi; Roopankar, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal; India Tobacco Company, New Delhi; Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi; Kumar Gallery New Delhi; Madhavan Art Gallery Kochi; Sakshi Gallery and at many other places across the world. She has been working at the Lalit Kala Studios, Garhi, since 1984. Solo Exhibitions: 'Metal and Clay III’ 2010 - Gallery Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise, New Delhi 'Moments of Being’ 2007 - GV Art, Bharat Vidya Bhavan, London 'Metal and Clay’ 1994 - Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai 'Bronzes and Terracottas, Metal and Clay’ 1990 - Inder Pasricha Gallery, The Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi Please refer to department for condition report