Artist Amrita Sher-Gil's In the Ladies' Enclosure became the second most expensive Indian work of art sold globally, after fetching a whopping Rs 37.8 crore at Saffronart's recent Summer Live Auction.
As many as 68 artworks went under the hammer on Tuesday evening and included works by the greats like Raja Ravi Varma, V S Gaitonde, F N Souza, Jogen Chowdhury, and Akbar Padamsee among others.
What makes Indian abstract art more valuable is its relative rarity. V S Gaitonde, S H Raza and J Swaminathan are the only major names in modern Indian art known for their abstracts.
Osian's auction of modern and contemporary masters on June 30 in Mumbai fetched the highest average lot per price of any auction of Indian works this summer. At Rs 59 lakh, it bested Christie's Rs 39 lakh, Sotheby's Rs 24 lakh and Saffronart's Rs 17 lakh.
The painting was bought by an NRI-settled in Dubai. The buyer's identity was not disclosed.
The sale lot of 61 pieces of art, which was spread across a variety of categories such as modern and contemporary South Asian art, prints, and photographs, realised an estimated sale price of Rs 23.8 crore. Pre-auction estimates had expected the sale to range between Rs 37 crore and Rs 52 crore. Around 11 pieces of art remained unsold on Day One, reports Pavan Lall.
Whistle-blowers allege the brothers violated court orders by selling assets like art and real estate worth crores bought by funds from their companies.
'Greek Landscape' is now the most expensive painting by Akbar Padamsee.
An oil painting by abstract artist Vasudeo S Gaitonde set a new world record for Indian artwork when it sold for a whopping Rs 29.3 crore ($4.4 million) at a Christie's auction in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Sixty-eight paintings that once belonged to fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will go under the hammer next week.
Christie's second art auction in Mumbai saw 78 works by Indian artists fetching a total of Rs 75.27 crore.
Since the note ban was announced auction houses, galleries and art fairs are witnessing lukewarm sales -- even with masters like Souza, Raza and Padamsee. Ritika Kochhar reports.
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