Sarah Abraham, a pioneer of contemporary Indian art in her early seventies, passed away peacefully in Chennai on August 4, 2024.
Mariam Ram was with her husband N. Ram during his last moments.
Born in the illustrious family of Chalakuzhy Paulose Mathen and his wife Eliamma Mathen in Travancore, Kerala (then Kerala), Sara was one of eight children.
His father K.P. Maithan was the managing director of Quilon Bank, which eventually became one of the largest private banks in India.
Sarah’s father eventually moved to Madras, the financial centre of South India, which was then the British capital of the Madras Presidency.
Sara, who was eight at the time, remembers when her family lived in a large Madras Garden House in Chetpet, a tree-lined suburb on the banks of the Cooum River.
In time, Sarah and her four sisters were sent to an Anglican boarding school in Darjeeling. It was here that Sarah discovered art under the guidance of an inspired art teacher. That early initiation instilled in Sarah the uncanny eye and innate ability to spot original talent that in the years that followed she emerged as a collector and promoter of post-independence Indian art.
Later, she was a part-time student at the Government School (now College) of Arts and Crafts, Madras. Principal KCS Panikkar, who founded the Cholamandal artists’ colony, included Sara in his lively collegiate of artists. Similarly, she was able to connect with KG Subramaniam or Manidha when she moved to Calcutta, as they remained her mentors.
Marrying at a young age to P.J. Abraham she had the good fortune to live in Bombay where she had perhaps her most exciting encounter with the young M.F. Husain. This was the time when a new generation of modern Indian art and art collectors were beginning to recognise the explosion of creativity in the country.
There couldn’t have been a better moment for a person like Sara to nurture and create with her own unique vision what became her journey of discovery. Kala Yatra, as she named it, became a moving celebration of contemporary Indian art in all its diversity.
Sarah Abraham spent her last day singing ‘Single Patience’ with friends from Kala Yatra on the walls of her home in Chennai, not far from the Adyar river.
She is survived by her daughters Maryam, Elisheba and son Kuruvilla and their families.
