Arpana Caur

• Name — Arpana Caur • Known for — Painting • Born — 1954 • Birthplace — Delhi, India • Mother — Ajeet Caur

Arpana Caur was born in 1954, in Delhi to a Sikh family who fled the Pakistani West Punjab to the Republic of India in 1947 during the confusion of the partition of British India. Her mother, Ajeet Caur, is a Panjabi-language writer. Caur adopted her first name, Arpana, at the age of fifteen, as an expression of her personal development. She was exposed to art, music, and literature early in her life. She learned the sitar and wrote poetry, however she enjoyed painting the most. At the age of nine, she made her first oil painting, 'Mother & Daughter', inspired by the works of Amrita Shergil. Caur graduated from the University of Delhi with a Master of Arts degree in literature. She did not obtain formal education in painting, and was largely self taught. However, she received training in etching at the Garhi Studios in New Delhi, which she completed in 1982. In a 2011 interview with Yashodhara Dalmia, when asked if she considered herself a feminist, Caur stated that she does not, as the themes she incorporates, or is curious about, go beyond gender and are ones that every human is faced with.

• YEAR — EXHIBITION DETAILS • 2009 — Mural on Tiles for outer wall of SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu • 2007 — Indigo Blue Gallery, Singapore • 2005 — Mahua Gallery, Bangalore • 2004 — Galerie Mueller & Plate, Munich • 2003 — Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, New Delhi • October Gallery, London • 2002 — Cymroza Gallery, Mumbai • 2001 — Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, New Delhi • 1999 — CIMA Gallery, Kolkata • 1998 — Fine Art Resources, Berlin • Foundation for Indian Artists Galerie, Amsterdam • Cymroza Gallery, Mumbai • 1997 — Arks Gallery, London • 1996 — Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai and Bangalore • 1994 — Cymroza Gallery, Mumbai • 1993 — Rabindra Bhawan Gallery, New Delhi • 1991 — Collins Gallery, Glasgow • 1988 — Art Heritage New Delhi • 1987 — October Gallery, London • 1985 — Art Heritage, New Delhi • Cymroza Gallery, Mumbai • 1984 — Ethnographic Museum, Stockholm • National Museum, Copenhagen • Jehangir Gallery, Mumbai • 1982 — Chapter Gallery, Cardiff • Jehangir Gallery, Mumbai • October Gallery, London • 1981 — City hall Gallery, Ottawa • 1980 — Jehangir Gallery, Mumbai • 1979 — Rabindra Bhawan Gallery, New Delhi • Gallery Arts 38, London • 1975 — Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi

1995 Inside Out: Contemporary Women Artists of India, Middlesbrough Art Gallery 1992 Crossing Black Waters 1988 Graven Images 1988 Numaish Lait Kala 1984 First Indo- Greek Cultural Symposium and group shows, Athens and Delphi 1981 Executed two large murals for India International Trade Fair, New Delhi

Arpana Caur has led the Academy of Fine Arts & Literature which hosts the South Asian Literature Festival; strengthening bonds between authors from the subcontinent. She is known to have successfully rallied against the felling of trees in New Delhi's Siri forest area during the construction of food courts and restaurants for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Village. She supports a leprosy home in Ghaziabad in memory of her younger sister. The home also offers vocational training for young girls.

Arpana Caur was born on 4 September 1954 in New Delhi. Caur held the nationality of India. Caur was educated at Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Recorded mother: Ajit Cour.

In August 2026, she co-produced a drama film Rehmat, directed by Gurvinder Singh based on her mother's short stories, which made it to the 79th Locarno Film Festival in the Main Competition.

Caur's paintings have been collected extensively in collections, both public and private, which include: • Victoria and Albert Museum London • Rockefeller Collection, New York • Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles • Singapore Museum of Modern Art, Singapore • National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai • Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh • Ethnographic Museum, Stockholm • Kunst Museum, Düsseldorf • Bradford Museum, Bradford, U.K • Glenbarra Museum, Japan • Deutsche Bank, Mumbai and Chandigarh • Kapany Collection, San Francisco • Asian Art Museum, San Francisco • Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation, Mumbai • Birla Akademi Collection, Calcutta • Peabody Essex Museum, Boston • Reubens Museum, New York • Venkatappa Museum (Roerich & Hebbar), Bangalore • Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal • Bengal Foundation, Dhaka • J.K Kejriwal Museum Collection, Bangalore Dhaka Museum