Vasudeo Gaitonde's painting sold for Rs.13 crores - £1.4 million app.
London, May 28, 2016: The South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction totaled £4,429,625 / $6,511,549 with 92% sold by lot and 93% sold by value with 33% sold above estimate. The 1975 canvas, Untitled by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde more than tripled its low estimate (£400,000) selling for £1,370,500 /$2,014,635 to a buyer in the sale room.
The selection of modernist sculpture did exceptionally well achieving world auction records for MEERA MUKHERJEE (£110,500/$162,435), as well as for sculptures by RAMKINKAR BAIJ and SADANAND BAKRE. Notably, works offered by Jamini Roy, Bhupen Khakhar and Francis Newton Souza from private collections achieved particularly strong results
Active bidding in the sale room as well as on the phone, was complemented by strong online participation from both established collectors and new buyers, indicating a growing international interest in the category.
Combined with the Arts of India auction, which took place earlier in the morning of 26 May and the Indian Art Online only auction Images of Rajasthan, which brought the total for Christie’s Indian Art Week London to £5,600,133 / $8,232,196.
Damian Vesey, Head of Sale, London, South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art, remarked: “We were pleased to see very strong prices achieved for Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, the top two lots of the sale, each selling for over one million Dollar and also saw record prices for major works of Indian modernist sculpture. The London sale also benefitted from significant interest in the Indian artist Bhupen Khakhar, with all works selling above estimate, ahead of his major retrospective opening next week at Tate Modern in London. The range of prices realised demonstrates a broad interest in the category from new buyers to seasoned collectors spanning across early modern through to contemporary works.”