21st Apr 2006

Saffronart summer auction holds promise After soaring to levels that have forced major buyers to pay more attention to Indian painters, Saffronart's May auction holds great promise with a domination of Souzas, Razas and a few Husains.

"The Saffronart summer online auction of modern Indian art works will take place May 10-11," said director Dinesh Vazirani who has taken the auction world by storm with impressive prices that have given Christies and Sotheby's ample avenues for the competitive edge.

"The general rise in affluence among Indians and non-resident Indians has allowed collectors to spend part of their disposable income on art," Vazirani maintained.

"There has been a marked growth in the number of collectors, creating a greater demand for works while the supply remains limited," he added.

The May auction will feature 150 works by 41 Indian artists. It is the 13th in the series to take place on www.saffronart.com

"The structure of the auction and its time span allows serious collectors as well as first-time buyers worldwide to place their bids over a period of two days as opposed to a few hours in a live auction" said Vazirani, now in London for the preview.

Million master Tyeb Mehta's "Situation" is a differential composition that actually sets you thinking about his early years. This oil on board is estimated at $581,400-697,700.

There is a brilliant work by N.S. Bendre - a young maiden resting her head against a latticed balustrade - done in 1981, this oil on canvas is estimated at $58,150-69,800 (Rs.2.6-3.1 million). A still life by K.K. Hebbar - an unusual oil on canvas - estimated at $41,900-46,550 is another work to look out for.

Among the 13 works by M.F. Husain, the auction has an emblematic one from his music series of the 1980s with the singer in a blue-fringed white sari and a tanpura. This is an oil on canvas and is estimated at $232,600-290,700.

A real showstopper is Husain's "Untitled" image of a Brahmin from playwright Vijay Tendulker's "Ghasiram Kotwal" series, a work that captures the spirit and ethos of street drama that has fascinated Husain for more than six decades. Done in 1996, this oil on canvas is estimated at $209,300-232,600.

There are 14 works up for the auction by abstract master F.H. Raza.

The most powerful is "La Terre", a work of 1984 that is estimated at a hefty $225,000-275,000. "Flora Fountain in Monsoon" of 1945 is a gouache and watercolour on paper pasted on board and is estimated at $30,000-35,000.

Then, there is "Contre Jour" of 1962, an oil on canvas estimated at $100,000-150,000, and "Village", an oil on board estimated at $80,000-90,000.

Among the 15 F.N. Souza's which consist of drawings as well as a few oils, the gem is a landscape in moody vermilion, an oil on board estimated at $170,000-225,000. It sure will set the paddles of the bidders rising.

Souza's most integral work in the auction is his coveted "Landscape in Orange", an erudite oil on canvas estimated at $250,000-300,000.

Progressive artist Ram Kumar's recent landscape "Untitled", an oil on canvas, is a sombre-hued work estimated at $93,050-116,300.

Other than that, there is Akbar Padamsee's "Untitled" nude, an oil on canvas estimated at $75,000-85,000.

A rare single is J. Swaminthan's "Untitled" oil on canvas estimated at $174,500- 197,700.

From the Bengal school, the essence of disproportion revels in Jogen Chowdhury's "Situation X" oil on canvas estimated at $81,400-93,050.

From Delhi, there is Rameshwar Broota's early work that embraces a mercurial grey sooty entendre titled "Reconstruction". This is an oil on canvas estimated at $80,000- 90,000.

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