India, Oct. 21 -- The premises of the Delhi Silpi Chakra have not been opened in years and a fine patina of dust covers the floors. Paintings still hang on its walls, and many lie stacked up against them. Darkness envelops a side room until the balcony door is forced open and sunlight streams in, illuminating a printing press in the centre of the room. The machine once belonged to 82-year-old Anupam Sud. Built locally and designed by her professor and mentor Jagmohan Chopra, it is one of the few presses that helped shape Delhi's nearly forgotten printmaking legacy.

Sud is herself a formative part of the Capital's cultural history. After graduating from Delhi Polytechnic (later the College of Art), she joined Group 8, a collective steeped...