Extraordinary Modernist masterpieces can fetch record prices: Hugo Weihe

Interview with CEO, Saffonart

The recent evening sale by Saffronart in Delhi on September 8 had a few surprises. Past records were shattered and new world records were set. Akbar Padamsee's Greek Landscape, a 4.3 x 12 foot canvas, exceeded its estimate price of Rs 7 to Rs 9 crore to sell at a whopping Rs 19.19 crore, setting a world auction record for the artist. He was accompanied by two others - Nasreen Mohamedi and Gaganendranath Tagore - in shattering records. While Mohamedi's 1960 oil on canvas sold for Rs 2.4 crore, Tagore's Ruben's Sketch Book was auctioned for Rs 1.8 crore. Avantika Bhuyan speaks to Hugo Weihe, CEO, Saffonart, about how the auction will affect future valuation for the artists. Edited excerpts:

The two works - by Mohamedi and Padamsee - exceeded their estimate prices. What is the significance of the two works?

Both the Padamsee canvas and the Mohamedi work are exceptional rarities and the record sale prices are truly justified. It just confirms the prices that can be achieved for great Modernist masterpieces. The Greek Landscape is an extraordinary masterpiece and deserves every penny that it got. It is one of the most important works by Padamsee. Krishen Khanna recognised this fact and added it to his own collection. It is no coincidence that Khanna or MF Husain owned a Padamsee.

Greek Landscape comes from the time between 1959 and 1960, when Padamsee renounced a rich colour palette in favour of grey. "Grey is without prejudice; it doesn't discriminate between object and space," he had said. How does this canvas shed light on his style during those landmark years?

Yes, what he did between 1959 and 60 was to remove colour and incorporate grey. This work has the view and vision of a landscape. It is void of colour but extraordinarily colourful in other ways. There's movement, tonality, large sweeps across a huge canvas. He switched gears after that and moved in another direction. So, this canvas marks a milestone of sorts. Later in the metaphysical landscapes, or metascapes, he juxtaposed colours and textures, with hues used to express emotions.

The last one year has seen several Modernist artists in the international spotlight, especially Mohamedi. Has that created more awareness among collectors about her work?

Absolutely. In case of Mohamedi, first a retrospective at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi and then the exhibition at the Met Breuer, organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, has given her international validation and put her on a pedestal. The works looked so extraordinary at the Met Breuer, they just hit you in the face - it made you realise how a work can look like in an international setting. Mohamedi was an extremely talented artist.

It is amazing to see what she created in such a short span of time. Canvases by her are very rare to come by and that's why, perhaps, a world record was created for her work.

Do you see prices for the two artists go up at later auctions, and by what percentage?

It is also a function of demand and availability. For Mohamedi, it has been a steady trend, which will continue, supported by international validation. But it is not possible to put a percentage on it. For Padamsee, this is a milestone achievement for an extraordinary masterpiece, which doesn't automatically imply that everything will move up accordingly. But it has now raised him to a new level of recognition that is most deserved.

The sale also featured artists such as Ila Pal, A A Raiba and G M Solegaonkar whose works are rare at auctions. What inspired you to include their works?

The idea was to provide a wider spectrum of Modernist works. We used 1960 as a sort of an anchor year, which allowed us to look back at the 1950s and look ahead at the 1960s. There were artists, not well known or overlooked, who were doing interesting work at the time. Including them in the sale provided greater depth to the notion of Modernism.