228
Saffronart | Evening Sale
229
PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED LADY, NEW DELHI
87
B PRABHA
(1933 ‒ 2001)
Untitled
Signed and dated in Devnagari (lower right)
1969
Oil on canvas
30 x 24.25 in (76 x 61.5 cm)
Rs 10,00,000 ‒ 12,00,000
$ 15,155 ‒ 18,185
B Prabha developed her own
signature style, working mainly
with oils. The elongated and
almost regal form, which was
typical of her rendering of female
figures is instantly recognisable.
The
demure
yet
frank
countenance shows up time and
again in Prabha’s women. It speaks
volumes about the honesty of
village life, especially the quiet
dignity adopted by the women
in their daily lives. The present
lot – a rural woman seated with
a collection of
jamuns
– uses the
subdued but colourful palette
typical of Prabha’s work. As a
female artist who came from a
small village near Nagpur, Prabha
was concerned with the plight of
rural and marginalised women,
and spent much of her career
documenting them.
B Prabha
Image courtesy of Nayana Sarmalkar