[ SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007 01:50:12 AM] KOLKATA: An Untitled Tyeb Mehta has entered the million dollar club again with a price tag of $1.16 million at the Sotheby’s New York sale of Indian modern paintings. The auction, which scaled a hefty $15 million, also included a clutch of miniatures. Almost 90% of the 172 lots were lapped up.
Following Mehta’s fantastic score, three paintings have crossed the $700,000 mark. An FN Souza Still Life has swung $712,000, a VS Gaitonde Untitled $780,000 and Rameshwar Broota’s Captives a similar price of $780,000. In the next rung, SH Raza’s Village En Provence and a Souza Untitled have both fetched $504,000.
“There are at least three paintings in the $400,000 bracket. Akbar Padamsee’s Mirror Image has sold for $480,000 and two MF Husain Untitled at $432,000 and $408,000. In the same breath, Souza’s Landscape with Tree has gone for $372,000, a Raza Untitled at $360,000 and Arpita Singh’s The Ritual at $336,000,” an art market source said.
According to the source, a pack of works have crossed the Rs 1 crore threshold. A Souza Still Life has achieved a figure of $288,000, a Ram Kumar Untitled $264,000, Souza Untitled $288,000, Husain’s Veena Player $240,000 and Krishen Khanna’s The Anatomy Lesson $264,000.
At the same time, KK Hebbar’s Untitled work has been picked up for $216,000, Jehangir Sabavala’s Storm III at $264,000, a J Swaminathan Untitled in the region of $216,000 and another Swaminathan titled Maun Gaman at a level of $240,000.
In the $100,000-plus range, a Husain work titled A Woman has surpassed its presale estimated value by miles.
The painting, which carried a minimum reserve price of $25,000 went on to sell for $150,000. In step, Raza’s Bindu, a Ram Kumar Untitled and a Husain Untitled all found final bids of $192,000. A Jogen Chowdhury piece also sold for $132,000, while a small Ganesh Pyne measuring just 7 by 5 inches was bought out for $45,000.
“A unique feature was evident among some of the lower priced artists. For instance, the Jamini Roys which went between a range of $18,000 and $42,000 reflected a margin of about five times above the reserve price. Similarly, the Abanindranath Tagore work, which sold for $31,200 was around eight times the minimum reserve price. The miniatures also sold for tidy sums ranging from about $10,000 to $114,000,” art connoisseur Prakash Kejariwal said.
He went on to add that following the trend set by Christie’s the previous day, Sotheby’s succeeded in climbing to a total sales figure which was almost double the Christie’s sales with of course larger number of lots.
“The Progressives again stole the show with Tyeb above a million and Gaitonde, Broota and Souza getting three quarters of a million. There were around 20 works that sold above Rs 1 crore. With 90% overall sales, the auction showed that the boom in Indian art continues. The new stars, though at lower levels are Jamini Roy, Abanindranath Tagore and the miniatures. Other paintings which sold are largely by popular artists who figure in most auctions,” Kejariwal said.
Following Mehta’s fantastic score, three paintings have crossed the $700,000 mark. An FN Souza Still Life has swung $712,000, a VS Gaitonde Untitled $780,000 and Rameshwar Broota’s Captives a similar price of $780,000. In the next rung, SH Raza’s Village En Provence and a Souza Untitled have both fetched $504,000.
“There are at least three paintings in the $400,000 bracket. Akbar Padamsee’s Mirror Image has sold for $480,000 and two MF Husain Untitled at $432,000 and $408,000. In the same breath, Souza’s Landscape with Tree has gone for $372,000, a Raza Untitled at $360,000 and Arpita Singh’s The Ritual at $336,000,” an art market source said.
According to the source, a pack of works have crossed the Rs 1 crore threshold. A Souza Still Life has achieved a figure of $288,000, a Ram Kumar Untitled $264,000, Souza Untitled $288,000, Husain’s Veena Player $240,000 and Krishen Khanna’s The Anatomy Lesson $264,000.
At the same time, KK Hebbar’s Untitled work has been picked up for $216,000, Jehangir Sabavala’s Storm III at $264,000, a J Swaminathan Untitled in the region of $216,000 and another Swaminathan titled Maun Gaman at a level of $240,000.
In the $100,000-plus range, a Husain work titled A Woman has surpassed its presale estimated value by miles.
The painting, which carried a minimum reserve price of $25,000 went on to sell for $150,000. In step, Raza’s Bindu, a Ram Kumar Untitled and a Husain Untitled all found final bids of $192,000. A Jogen Chowdhury piece also sold for $132,000, while a small Ganesh Pyne measuring just 7 by 5 inches was bought out for $45,000.
“A unique feature was evident among some of the lower priced artists. For instance, the Jamini Roys which went between a range of $18,000 and $42,000 reflected a margin of about five times above the reserve price. Similarly, the Abanindranath Tagore work, which sold for $31,200 was around eight times the minimum reserve price. The miniatures also sold for tidy sums ranging from about $10,000 to $114,000,” art connoisseur Prakash Kejariwal said.
He went on to add that following the trend set by Christie’s the previous day, Sotheby’s succeeded in climbing to a total sales figure which was almost double the Christie’s sales with of course larger number of lots.
“The Progressives again stole the show with Tyeb above a million and Gaitonde, Broota and Souza getting three quarters of a million. There were around 20 works that sold above Rs 1 crore. With 90% overall sales, the auction showed that the boom in Indian art continues. The new stars, though at lower levels are Jamini Roy, Abanindranath Tagore and the miniatures. Other paintings which sold are largely by popular artists who figure in most auctions,” Kejariwal said.
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