Polonnaruva (Woman among Trees), c.1935 (w/c over coloured pencil on heavy wove paper, adhered to...

During the early twentieth century, a small group of South Asian and foreign scholars and artists explored the ancient arts of the subcontinent and brought them world recognition. They also made their findings available to the many artists striving to develop an appropriate modern art for the emerging nations. Sarkis Katchadourian traveled around South Asia in the 1930s copying fragments of ancient wall paintings, such as the sixth-century murals from Polonnaruva in Sri Lanka. Soon after, he exhibited his work at Calcutta University, where art historian Stella Kramrisch was then a professor. It is likely that Kramrisch acquired this watercolor at that time.