Sotheby’s: Success for modern and contemporary art from South Asia
Works totalling £19.8 million were sold at auction, with a 99 per cent sell-through rate and 89 per cent of the lots exceeding their upper estimate: Raza, Khakhar, Husain, Tagore and Souza were the standout sellers
Key points
The wars in the East are not destabilising the auctions; on the contrary, the hunt for modern artists from the Middle East has fuelled competition at the 29 September sale at Sotheby’s in London. The auction dedicated to modern and contemporary art from the Middle East delivered more than a few surprises, exceeding even the most optimistic expectations: it totalled £19.8 million (US$26.2 million) against a much lower estimate of £4.1–5.7 million ($5.4–7.6 million), thus marking the highest total ever recorded for this category in the auction house’s thirty-year history, with a sell-through rate of 99 per cent and 89 per cent of the works sold for more than the upper estimate. Many works were sold for figures well above the estimates, including paintings by Raza, Khakhar, Husain, Tagore and Souza. Nine world auction records were set, including those for Rabindranath Tagore, Bhupen Khakhar and Sunayani Devi. Global participation from bidders saw activity from India and across South Asia, North America and Europe.
An unexpected return
“It was an extraordinary auction for the department: we achieved the highest total in our history, surpassing the record set in London just last year. With nine new artist records, the results reflect both the strength of the market and the growing international appreciation for South Asian art,” explained Manjari Sihare-Sutin, Sotheby’s global head of modern and contemporary South Asian art . “We are particularly delighted with the result achieved for the work by Bhupen Khakhar (1934–2003) ‘Old Men Playing Chess’, which quadrupled its upper estimate (500–700 thousand pounds) to reach 3,140,000 pounds (4,161,285 dollars), a seminal work from his historic 1972 exhibition and directly from the artist’s private collection. To see the market respond with such conviction is immensely gratifying; above all, today’s result has demonstrated the diversity of this sector: from Husain and Raza to Bhupen and Tagore, right through to artists whose markets are only now gaining the recognition they deserve. For us, it is important to observe how the very history of South Asian art is becoming broader, richer and more international.”
Sales
The auction was led by the work ‘Paysage Rouge’ by the Indian master Sayed Haider Raza (1922–2016), which sold for £3,750,000 ($4,969,688), a figure ten times higher than the upper estimate (£250,000–350,000). ‘Mithuna Crimson’ by the Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain (1915–2011), far exceeded its estimate of 400,000–600,000, fetching 2,650,000 pounds (3,514,563 dollars). The work came from the prestigious collection of Chester and Davida Herwitz – pioneering American collectors who played a key role in introducing modern Indian art to an international audience – and had last been offered at auction over a quarter of a century ago. Offered at auction with an exceptional provenance, the untitled work ‘Head of a Woman’ by the eclectic Bengali master Rabindranath Tagore (1928–1987), reached a price of 1,024,000 pounds (1,357,056 dollars) from an estimate of 270–350,,000, setting an auction record for the artist and exceeding by more than 12 times the $104,500 the work fetched at its first auction appearance at Sotheby’s in New York in 2008. Among the selected works by Sayed Haider Raza, ‘Germination’, making its auction debut; the painting realised 704,000 pounds (932,976 dollars) from an estimate of 220,000–280,000 pounds. Offered at auction for the first time after being purchased directly from the artist in 2003, shortly after its creation, the work ‘Untitled (Apple Cutter)’ by Manjit Bawa (1941–2008) was sold for £704,000 ($932,976), against an estimate of £200,000–300,000.
The atmosphere of fierce competition amongst the bidders was evident right from the first lot, when the work *Head* by Francis Newton Souza far exceeded the initial estimate (60–80,000), with the hammer falling at 435,200 pounds (576,749 dollars). Making its auction debut, ‘Untitled (Indian Temple Scene)’ by Gaganendranath Tagore achieved a price more than 15 times the upper estimate (6–8,000 pounds), reaching 115,200 pounds (152,669 dollars). The work was originally purchased in India in the early 20th century and remained in the same family collection until the time of sale.
A work entitled ‘Untitled’ by Husain, which captures the lively atmosphere the artist encountered in Benares, with an estimated value of between 100,000 and 150,000 pounds, saw its value multiply to reach 537,600 pounds ($712,454). Among the few works by female artists is ‘Spaces to Hide’ (1980) by the Indian artist Zarina, born Zarina Hashmii (1937–2020), which sold for 256,000 pounds (339,264 dollars) against an estimate of 50,000–70,000 pounds. A series of five watercolours by another contemporary artist, Madhvi Parekh (1942), exceeded the pre-auction estimate of 5–7,000 pounds, selling for 48,640 pounds ($64,460). Appearing at auction for the first time, Souza’s ‘Landscape with Church’ more than quadrupled its initial estimate of between 100,000–150,000 pounds, reaching 704,000 pounds (932,976 dollars). ‘Tree Spirit II’, a bronze sculpture by Dhruva Mistry (1957), achieved a record price of £108,800 ($144,187), starting from an estimate of between £12,000 and £18,000.
