Husain, Mehta works to go under hammer

Works of Indian masters including M F Husain, Tyeb Mehta, Jamini Toy and Jogen Chowdhury will go under the hammer at an auction of modern art and antiquities here later this week.
Osian's Group's auction of 'Indian Antiquities, Modern & Contemporary Fine Arts' on June 19 at the Tao Art Gallery will feature 82 lots.
The antiquities section has several rare items like a Khmer pre-Angkorian period 7th century sculpture of goddess Durga, representing the influence of Hinduism in Cambodia (Rs 30 lakh - Rs 45 lakh); a Tibetan Thangkha wearing a jewelled crown and riding a snow lion (Rs 45 lakh - Rs 67.5 lakh); and a watercolour on paper of the mausoleum of Salim Chisti within the compound of the Jami Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri (Rs 3 lakh- Rs 4.5 lakh).

Three works of Husain feature in the auction - an oil on canvas 'Dada Abdul' signed in Bengali and English (Rs 42 lakh - Rs 63 lakh); an oil on canvas 'Sitar Player' (Rs 60 lakh - Rs 90 lakh); and an untitled water colour on paper (Rs 4.5 lakh - Rs 6.75 lakh).
Depicting musicians has been one of Husain's favourites and most popular themes. 'Sitar Player' represents a period when Husain was at the height of his career with Films Division and Santi Chowdhury's documentary "Husain: A Painter of our Times" being released in 1976.
Mehta's gouache on paper - Study for Santiniketan Triptych - is expected to fetch between Rs 6 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. Two early and rare post-impressionist style paintings by Roy are expected to fetch between Rs 6 lakh - Rs 9 lakh each, while his 'Last Supper' painting form the iconic Christ series has a bidding price of Rs 12 lakh to Rs 18 lakh.

Two works of Chowdhury - 'Young Girl as Nude' and 'Love Letter' have a pre-sale estimate of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 9 lakh each.
The artist of focus is Antonio Xavier Trindade with four of his Christ and Biblical theme paintings slated to go under the hammer.