Rare works by Tagores on auction again

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) After paintings by Nobel
laureate Rabindranath Tagore were snapped up for a record 1.6
million pounds in Sotheby's recent London auction, another
upcoming auction is including art by the Tagores in its
repertoire of rare and historical works by modern masters.
"101 Rare Artworks from the History of Indian Modern
and Contemporary Art" by Osian's - Connoisseurs of Art is
scheduled to take place on June 23 in Mumbai this month.
Tagged between Rs 24 to Rs 35 crores, the 101 works of
art include modern masters such as the Tagores, Nandalal Bose,
Jamini Roy, F N Souza, S H Raza, Ganesh Pyne, Tyeb Mehta, M F
Husain, V S Gaitonde, J Swaminathan, Rameshwar Broota, Jogen
Chowdhury, and Bhupen Khakhar.
A few works by contemporary artists such as Atul
Dodiya, Anju Dodiya and Subodh Gupta also figure in sales by
the auction house which is marking its 10th year of
operations.
Commenting on the auction and the market in general,
Neville Tuli, Founder-Chairman Osian's says, "As the market
slowly consolidates, a sustained and much deeper growth is now
expected over the next 12 to 18 months, as the long term
stability of Indian art and its short term liquidity problems
are better understood by the market.
"This will lead to a more sustainable appreciation,
especially regarding the high quality works by our modern
masters."
A very rare watercolour on paper from the Chaitanya
Series by Gaganendranath Tagore has been pegged between Rs
1,800,000 – Rs 2,700,000.
Other auction highlights include an oil on canvass
"Italian Landscape" by F N Souza (1961) estimated between Rs
9,000,000 - Rs 13,500,000 and "Crucifixion" an early charcoal
work by Tyeb Mehta estimated between Rs 3,600,000 - Rs
5,400,000.
"Today, all the major international institutions wish
to include top quality Indian modern and contemporary art
within their museum collections, and the impact of this
purchasing policy along with a vast new influx of Indian
domestic collectors will provide a major impetus to the
market. The artworks in our celebrating 10 years auction
represent some of the very best examples of Indian modern art
and will definitely do very well, especially as Christie's has
already created a good momentum for the June season" adds
Neville Tuli.
"Queue", a 1970s oil on canvas by Rameshwar Broota
from his chimpanzee series estimated between Rs 7,200,000 - Rs
10,800,000 expresses the absolute power which his creatures
can exercise over ordinary mortals.
A rare 1991 acrylic on wood by M F Husain estimated
between Rs 2,400,000 - Rs 3,600,000 is another highlight of
the auction. PTI