The artist selected for school-wide study at McGaugh this year is Anjana Kumar. Anjana Kumar is a Mithila artist from the Bihar region in eastern India. Since the fourteenth century Mithila women have painted colorful images on the interior and courtyard walls and floors of their homes. These paintings were discovered in 1934 by a British colonial official, William G. Archer, while inspecting damage caused by a massive earthquake. Archer published photographs of these extraordinary art works bringing them to the attention of art lovers, scholars and government officials. When a devastating drought occurred in 1966, the local women were encouraged to put their painting on paper so they might sell them as a source of income for their families. Anjana Kumar’s painting, “Marriage” is done in the bharni style showing brightly colorful images of the bride and groom. This painting depicts the bride making an offering by placing sindur in a bowl on the head of a small clay elephant to show her gratitude for happiness in the marriage to the groom.

McGaugh Interpretation