Amrita Sher-Gil
Amrita Sher-Gil was an eminent Hungarian-Indian painter. She has been called "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a "pioneer" in modern Indian art.
The Little Girl in Blue was painted during a period when Sher-Gil was on the cusp of a change in her technique and approach to her subject. The treatment of the subject has become more linear and flat. There is a definite simplification of form and an elimination of unimportant detail that coincides with her return to India and her further appreciation of the Indian miniature school tradition.
After her premature death, Sher-Gil's art has influenced generations of Indian artists from Sayed Haider Raza to Arpita Singh and her depiction of the plight of women has made her art a beacon for women both in India and abroad. The Government of India has declared her works as National Art Treasures. Her work is deemed to be so important to Indian culture that when it is sold in India, the Indian government has stipulated that the art must stay in the country; fewer than ten of her works have been sold globally.
Here you can read Amrita Sher-Gil's story.