A look at rising stars in the Indian art market

The month of March 2024 has been made memorable by the superlative sales at all the top three auctions of India art—by the Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Saffronart (in no particular order), held at different times this month.

While all the limelight has been hogged by the record-breaking work by FN Souza and the top lot across all these auctions, a work by S. H. Raza, there are several other works by artists not as well-known as Souza and Raza, that have sold well beyond their estimates. This not only puts spotlight on artist truly deserving of a nice shining spot of their own, but also augurs well for the future of Indian art market.

To jog our memory, Raza’s Kallisté, a 1959 acrylic on canvas, sold at Sotheby’s auction of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art in New York on March 18, for $5,619,900 (approx. Rs 46.76 crore). On the other hand, Souza’s The Lovers, a 1960 oil on board sold at a Christie’s auction of South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art in New York on March 20, for $4,890,000 (approx. Rs 40.69 crore).

This week, I’m going to do a brief review of works that sold well at all these three auctions, but carried rather unfamiliar signatures for the lay admirers of art. This will also give us a break from the repetition of half-a-dozen names that one must recite every auction season.

Saffronart’s Spring Live Auction, March 13, Mumbai

The top selling lot at Saffronart’s Spring Live Auction held in Mumbai on March 13 was a foregone conclusion. It was also the top lot at the auction by estimates, well before the sale, and it came good on the bet the collectors placed on it. It was a 1996 oil on canvas by Bhupen Khakhar, Untitled (Champaner), which went for $1.7 million (Rs 14.40 crore), against an estimate of $731,710 - $975, 610 (Rs 6 crore – Rs 8 crore). Khakhar (1934-2003), an accountant-turned-self-taught artist from Baroda, is a newly minted top gun at global auctions of Indian art, where his works are regularly appearing among the very top lots over the past few years. His 1982 painting, Two Men in Benaras, sold for Rs 22.39 crore (£2.54 m) at a Sotheby’s auction in London in June 2019, which remains his most expensive work ever sold at an auction.

Another work, that went for double its highest pre-auction estimate, was Arunodaya, a 1989 oil on canvas by N. S. Bendre. Estimated at Rs 90 lakh- Rs 1.20 crore ($109,760 - $146,345), it fetched Rs 2.64 crore ($321,951). Bendre (1910-1992), born in Indore and a contemporary of Nandalal Bose, Ram Kinkar Baij and Benode Behari Mukherjee, Bendre taught generations of modern Indian artists in the early years of independent India at M. S. University, Baroda. In the recent years, his works have appreciated in value at the auction circuit, regularly going beyond their pre-auction estimates.

B Prabha’s Untitled work sold for Rs 84 lakh at Saffronart’s Spring Live Auction in Mumbai on March 13, against an estimate of Rs 35 lakh – Rs 45 lakh. Image credit: Saffronart

Gulammohammed Sheikh’s 1937 work, Sursagar (which this column has discussed earlier), was another highlight, selling for Rs 6.24 crore ($760,976). A name to be noted, that should scale greater heights in the days to come, is that of B. Prabha (1933-2001), one of the earliest modern women artists of India. Her oil on canvas from circa 1970s, Untitled, featuring a woman in her kitchen garden, sold for nearly double its estimate, fetching Rs 84 lakh ($102,439). It was estimated at Rs 35 lakh – Rs 45 lakh ($42,685 - $54,880).

NS Bendre’s Arunodaya sold for Rs 2.64 crore at Saffronart’s Spring Live Auction against an estimate of Rs 90 lakh – Rs 1.20 crore. Image credit: Saffronart

Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art, March 18, New York

A work by Bhupen Khakhar was one of the stellar performers at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction in New York on March 18. It was the second-best performing lot after S. H. Raza’s Kallisté. Khakhar’s 1978 oil on canvas, Hatha Yogi, was estimated at $500,000 - $700,000 (approx. Rs 4.16 crore – Rs 5.83 crore) but went for a whopping $1,814,500 (approx. Rs 15.12 crore). It’s a satire on those who come to be revered by the political class for their superhuman yogic powers.

Another of Khakhar’s works, Savita, sold for $571,500 (approx. Rs 4.76 crore) against an estimate of $300,000 - $500,000 (approx. Rs 2.50 crore – Rs 4.16 crore). Nasreen Mohamedi’s 1969 oil on canvas, Untitled, was another top performer, fetching $482,600 (approx. Rs 4.02 crore) against an estimate of $150,000 - $200,000 (approx. Rs 1.25 crore – 1.66 crore).

KK Hebbar’s Untitled (Narayan Shridhar Bendre) fetched (approx. Rs 2.54 crore) against an estimate of approx. Rs 58.37 lakh – Rs 75.04 lakh at Sotheby’s auction. Image credit: Sotheby’s

An interesting addition to the top 10 list of Sotheby’s auction was the name of Zainul Abedin (1914-1976), one of Bangladesh’s best known modern artists, who is fondly referred to in his country as Shilpacharya (Great Master of the Arts). Abedin’s mesmerizing portrait from 1963 of a Santhal couple, titled Untitled (Couple), showing the young man and woman on way to work or on way home in the backdrop of the lush and rich Bengal countryside, was estimated at $100,000 - $ 150,000 (approx. Rs 83.38 lakh – Rs 1.25 crore) but went for a stunning $381,000 (approx. Rs 3.17 crore).

A spectacular result at this auction was achieved by K. K. Hebbar’s 1959 oil on board, Untitled (Narayan Shridhar Bendre), that fetched $304,800 (approx. Rs 2.54 crore) against an estimate of $70,000 - $90,000 (approx. Rs 58.37 lakh – Rs 75.04 lakh). Another of Abedin’s work rounded off the top 10 list at Sotheby’s.

Zainul Abedin’s Untitled (Couple) sold for approx. Rs 3.17 crore at Sotheby’s auction of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art in New York on March 18, against an estimate of approx. Rs 83.38 lakh – Rs 1.25 crore. Image credit: Sotheby’s

Christie’s South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art, March 20, New York

Christie’s auction was a tribute to Francis Newton Souza in his birth centenary year, and included works from the collection of Umesh and Sunanda Gaur. As expected, Souza’s works dominated the auction but names that sprung out for superlative performance included Gulammohammed Sheikh, whose Portrait of a Tree, a 1975 oil on canvas exceeded estimates and ended as the third most expensive work at the auction. It fetched $1,381,000 (approx. Rs 11.51 crore) against an estimate of $150,00 - $250,000 (approx. Rs 1.25 crore – Rs 2.08 crore).

Gulammohammed Sheikh’s Portrait of a Tree fetched approx. Rs 11.51 crore at Christie’s auction in New York on March 20, against an estimate of approx. Rs 1.25 crore – Rs 2.08 crore. Image credit: Christie’s

A rich yellow Untitled work by Manjit Bawa (1941-2008), fetched $693,000 (approx. Rs 5.77 crore) against an estimate of $300,000 - $500,000 (approx. Rs 2.50 crore – Rs 4.16 crore). Bloom, an ethereal abstract painted in 1968 by Ganesh Pyne (1937-2013), also performed well. It was estimated at $80,000 - $120,000 (approx. Rs 66.69 lakh – Rs 1 crore) but went for $315,000 (approx. Rs 2.62 crore). Love, an acrylic on canvas by Nalini Malini (b. 1946), painted in 1990-91, too overshot its estimates by a mile. It fetched $302,400 (approx. Rs 2.52 crore) against an estimate of $40,000 - $60,000 (approx. Rs 33.34 lakh – Rs 50 lakh).

Bloom by Ganesh Pyne was estimated at approx. Rs 66.69 lakh – Rs 1 crore but went for approx. Rs 2.62 crore at Christie’s auction. Image credit: Christie’s

(The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist)