Thota Vaikuntam (Indian, B. 1942) Untitled (Lady)Thota Vaikuntam (Indian, B. 1942)Untitled (Lady) signed and dated '03 in Telugu lower rightacrylic on canvas on board, framed58.7 x 43.5cm (23 1/8 x 17 1/8in).ProvenanceAcquired from the artist in 2006.There is a label on the reverse which includes the artist's name, the size and year of the work and the medium.Vaikuntam was born in Telangana (formerly Andhra Pradesh), and obtained a Diploma in Painting from the College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad, and then pursued further studies in Painting and Printmaking under the tutelage of K.G. Subramanyan at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. His works are inspired by the rural women of Telangana, with whom he has had a lifelong fascination. This intrigue can be traced to the travelling theatre groups of his childhood, when the male artists would impersonate female characters. The muses in his works are voluptuous and sensuous and are adorned with ornaments, vermilion bindis and draped in colourful sarees of reds, saffrons, greens and blues, the latter of which can be seen in the present lot.Vaikuntam had his first solo exhibition in 1973, at the Kala Bhavan in Hyderabad and has gone on to exhibit worldwide since. Some notable shows include, 'The Telangana Icons' presented by Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi at Grosvenor Gallery, London in 2015, 'Post Independence Masters' at Aicon Gallery, New York in 2008, '6 Artists Show' at 1x1 Gallery, Dubai in 2006 and 'Tradition and Change' at Arts India, New York in 2002. He has also been the receipt of various awards, the 1993 National Award for Painting, being the most recent. For similar works sold in these rooms, see Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, 24th May 2022, lot 24 and Islamic and Indian Art, 25th October 2007, lot 290.