In June, Saffronart’s Summer Online Auction will see 109 works by leading Modern and Contemporary Indian artists go under the hammer. With a pre-sale estimate of INR 21.78 – 29.46 crores (USD 3.35 – 4.5 million), the auction’s uniqueness lies in the excellent provenances accompanying several works, with significant lots from some of Indian art’s earliest and most important collectors.
leading the sale is lot 29, Amrita Sher-Gil’s Untitled (Zebegény landscape), estimated between Rs3.9 – 5.2 crores (USD 600,000 – 800,000). Sher-Gil was India’s foremost woman artist, whose brief career spanning just over a decade had a deep impact on Indian art. Made in 1931, this landscape was painted during a summer holiday she spent in the Hungarian village of Zebegény on the banks of the Danube. It demonstrates Sher-Gil’s artistic confidence and maturity at a young age.
Among the highlights is lot 26, a 1953 painting by VS Gaitonde, estimated between Rs52 to 65 lakhs (USD 80,000 to 100,000), from the collection of Bilwa Chowdhury and Eleonore Chowdhury-Haberl. The Chowdhurys were among the earliest collectors of Indian art, and were involved in the nascent stages of the development of Modern Indian art. They have built a significant art collection over the decades, much of which is now in Mumbai and Vienna. The Gaitonde work on auction was part of the retrospective, Painting as Process, Painting as life, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Also once part of their collection is lot 25, an early landscape painting by Ram Kumar, estimated between Rs65 to 97.5 lakhs (USD 100,000 to 150,000), marking his transition to abstract painting.
Hugo Weihe, CEO of Saffronart, says, “The sale presents a very attractive and carefully considered selection that offers something for collectors at all stages and at different price points. Many works have excellent provenances and there are many rare and well priced opportunities for art lovers.”