Lot 101
Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000
Auction: 11 December 2024 from 10:00 GMT
oil on panel, highlighted in gold leaf, signed lower left, S.H. Askari, framed
85.5cm x 29cm
Formerly, deceased estate, New York.
Following the early pioneer Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), Askari was part of a group of Academic Realists who fused European academic art with Indian sensibility and iconography. Born on 29 December 1907 in Jhansi, India, Askari studied at the Government School of Art and Craft in Lucknow, before relocating to London and studying at the Royal College or Art between 1935-1939. His work initially consisted of large murals however he soon became a successful portrait painter. His artworks were purchased by the Nawabs of the day, ruling princes, governors, ministers, presidents and high officials and their wives. Askari also taught art in India and the U.K.; amongst his students was Lady Halett who was married to Sir Morrie Halett (Governor of the United Provinces in India).