Archive · 11 Aug 2026
New book examines sculptor Meera Mukherjee's legacy and artistic labour
A new book tells the story of Meera Mukherjee, a famous sculptor from India.
Meera was born in 1923 in a big family home in Calcutta.
She did not like regular school, so she learned at home.
As a little girl, she loved waking up early to watch the sunrise from the terrace.
When she grew up, she became a sculptor who made giant metal statues.
Some of her statues show women reaching up to the sky or weaving cloth.
She learned the special skill of casting metal from tribal artists in Bastar.
One of her last statues was finished by her team after she died in 1998.
The book celebrates her amazing life and work.
A new book, 'From the Depth of the Mould: Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998), A Centenary Tribute', examines the sculptor's legacy and artistic labour.
The book is edited by Tapati Guha-Thakurta and published by Jadavpur University Press and Gallerie 88.
Mukherjee was born on May 12, 1923, in Bowbazar, Calcutta, the youngest of eight children in an affluent family.
Her major works include Akash (1993), Ashoka at Kalinga (1972), He Who Saw (1968) and a seated Buddha completed posthumously by her team in 1998.
Her art was shaped by the primitivist aesthetics and metal casting techniques of the Gharua tribal sculptures of Bastar.
As a child, Mukherjee was deeply drawn to watching the sunrise from her family terrace, a motif reflected in her monumental female figures.
- Who
- Indian sculptor Meera Mukherjee, whose life and work are examined in a new book edited by Tapati Guha-Thakurta
- What
- The publication of a centenary tribute book examining Mukherjee's legacy and artistic labour
- When
- A centenary tribute to the artist (1923-1998), referencing her works from 1968 to 1998
- Where
- India; Mukherjee was born in Bowbazar, Calcutta, and her work Akash was exhibited at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, in 1993
- Why
- To mark the centenary of the sculptor's birth and to examine artistic labour through her legacy
- Artist
- Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998)
- Book title
- From the Depth of the Mould: Meera Mukherjee (1923-1998), A Centenary Tribute
- Editor
- Tapati Guha-Thakurta
- Publishers
- Jadavpur University Press and Gallerie 88
- Born
- May 12, 1923, Bowbazar, Calcutta
- Notable works
- Akash (1993), Ashoka at Kalinga (1972), He Who Saw (1968), seated Buddha (posthumously completed 1998)
- Artistic influence
- Gharua tribal sculptures of Bastar, especially their metal casting techniques