Tyeb Mehta's painting 'Durga' fetches Rs. 20cr at Sotheby's auction
What's the story
Indian painter, sculptor, film maker and Padma Bhushan recipient Tyeb Mehta's painting Durga Mahisasura Mardini was sold for $2.9 million (Rs. 20.49 crore) at Boundless India, Sotheby's inaugural auction in Mumbai yesterday evening.
Art works worth $7.9 million (Rs. 55.40 crore) were sold at the auction, a Sotheby's official said, adding over 75% of sold lots achieved prices above their pre-sale high estimates.
Auction
Amrita Sher-Gil's painting was sold at a record price
Mehta's painting had remained in the same private collection since it was commissioned in 1993.
Strong competition for Amrita Sher-Gil's The Little Girl in Blue drove the painting to sell over the high estimate for $2.7 million (Rs. 18.69cr), a record price for the artist in India.
This is only the seventh oil-painting by Amrita to be offered anywhere in the world.
Information
Painting by Amrita, when she was 10, also sold
Amrita's work had remained in the same collection for 80 years since it was selected by the artist for her first solo show in 1937. Earlier in the sale, a second work by her was also sold, created by her when she was just 10-year-old.
Comments
Results show confidence for South Asian art market: Yamini Mehta
One of the most important sculptures created in modern-India, an untitled 1950s bronze by Sadanand Bakre, achieved a record price for any 20th-century Indian sculpture at Rs. 1.88cr.
Yamini Mehta, Sotheby's International Head of Indian and South Asian Art, said, "Tonight's results are a vote of confidence for the South Asian art market, with significant new records, benchmarks achieved across different artists and genres."
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This is a milestone moment for Sotheby's, says top official
Edward Gibbs, Sotheby's Chairman for the Middle East and India, said, "This is a milestone moment for Sotheby's. Tonight's sale reflects Sotheby's continued commitment to the South Asian market." Sotheby's is a global art business that offers the artists/clients to sell/acquire exceptional treasures.