Indian painter Tyeb Mehta’s monumental 1989 Untitled work ‘Kali’, fetched a whopping ₹26.4 crores at Saffronart’s recent ‘Milestone 200th Auction’, setting a new world record for the artist. One of the only three standing figures painted by Mehta, the artwork, initially estimated at ₹19.8 crores, surpassed his previous international record when his 1994 Untitled (Woman on rickshaw) painting sold for ₹22.99 crores at a 2017 Christie’s auction.
“The sale of Tyeb Mehta’s Kali marks an important achievement in modern Indian art sales,” Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and co-founder of Saffronart, said.
World records
With 85 per cent lots sold, the auction, achieving total sales of ₹75 crores, also set world records for five other artists - N S Bendre, M V Dhurandhar, Sankho Chaudhuri, Sheila Makhijani and Dhananjay Singh.
While Bendre’s Untitled (1974) work sold for ₹1.32 crores surpassing its initial estimate of ₹40-60 lakhs, Dhurandhar’s impressive watercolour painting, “Tarabai - Founder of the Kolhapur Confederacy” (1927) surpassed its initial estimate of ₹9.9-13.2 lakhs by fetching ₹60.98 lakhs.
A bronze sculpture by Chaudhuri sold for ₹39.9 lakhs against an estimate of ₹15-20 lakhs and Makhijani’s “What Were You Thinking” (2007) sold for ₹14 lakhs against a pre-sale estimate of ₹10-15 lakhs.
Singh’s “The Last Tree” (2013), estimated at ₹25—35 lakhs, was sold for ₹37.3 lakhs.
“In our 18 years as India’s leading auction house, our focus has been to make the best of Indian art accessible to audiences around the world.
“With its strong sale results and new world records, Saffronart’s 200th auction has paved the way forward for Indian art auctions,” Vazirani said.
The top lots of the sale also featured big names from the Indian art scene like V S Gaitonde, Raja Ravi Varma, S H Raza, Manjit Bawa, Akbar Padamsee and Subodh Gupta. PTI TRS TRS TRS 06151449
