Osian's auctions Gaitonde's art for Rs 92 lakh

Marking a milestone in the Indian art auction scene, V S Gaitonde's untitled abstract work fetched a whopping Rs 92 lakh, making it the first Indian contemporary painting sold for that price in India.

The painting was bought by an NRI-settled in dubai, whose identity was not disclosed, through a telephone bid at the public auction conducted by Osian's, India's leading auction house and premier archive, here late last night.

A total of 99 pieces of art, out of 161 put up for auction, were sold at the event, fetching a total amount of Rs 6.18 crore, Osian'ssources said.

The auction also saw world renowned master Pablo Picasso's work `the face' fetching Rs 7 lakh under the hammer, marking a new involvement of western art in the Indian market.

The top bids of the day included, E N Souza's `Cityscape' sold at Rs 25.30 lakh. Rameshwar broota's work titled `Queue' attracted a price of Rs 27.60 lakh, while Ambadas's untitled work fetched Rs 18.40 lakh. Also included in the top bids of the day was also N S Bendre's Jaisalmer series sold for Rs 18.40 lakh.

M F Husain's work `Veena Player' attracted a bid of Rs 16 lakh, however, his drawing on the nursery series failed to attract any buyer at the opening bid of Rs 3.60 lakh.

Artists Biren De, Jamini Roy, M V Durandhar, Prokash Karmakar were also among those whose works fetched high bids at the prestigious auction, attended among others by prominent artist Satish Gujral.

The highlight of the event was Gaitonde's work which began with an opening bid of Rs 60 lakh and was hotly bidded for before finally fetching Rs 92 lakh.

The controversial painting `Ram' by bhupen khakhar, which earlier in the day had attracted a lot of attention with a city tabloid claiming the work to be fake but Osians staunchly maintaining it was an original piece of art, attracted a bid of Rs 4.20 lakh under the hammer.

Khakhar's work `Ghotak', representing the artist's earliest paintings in which he freely expressed his homosexuality, was however, withdrawn from the auction following controversy over its genuineness.

Two other works of art, Mahendra Pandya's `Torso' and Somnath Hore's `Figure with bucket' were also withdrawn. One of them was withdrawn as it had developed a crack during transportation while the other was involved in a conflict over ownership issue.

Under the Indian modern and contemporary sculpture section, it was D P Roy Chowdhury's Gandhiji's bust that attracted a bid of Rs 9 lakh and Raghav Kaneria's untitled sculpture fetched Rs 4.50 lakh under the hammer.

The auction saw works focussing on abstraction in Indian contemporary painting, fascination for the female form, a focus on draughtsmanship and those inspired by folk and tribal traditions.

Expressing satisfaction over the auction, Osian's founder-chairman Neville Tuli said though the Gaitonde painting was expected to fetch Rs 1 crore, he was satisfied over the Rs 92 lakh selling price.

He was, however, disappointed that S H Raza's Village series failed to attract a buyer at the opening bid of Rs 24 lakh.

Prominent artist, Jamini Roy's five works, the `Last supper' series, `Crucifixion', `Mother and child' and `Devi' also attracted buyers, while Ustad Allah Buksh's work on Krishna went under the hammer for Rs 12.50 lakh.

Three of G R Santosh's work, including `Woman', were sold at the auction. Nirode Mazmudar's water colour painting `Mahisasur', which had earlier in the day attracted headlines about its genuniness by the city tabloid, was bid for Rs 2.80 lakh.

Paritosh Sen's the `Portrait of a mafia don', Vishwanath's Nageshkar's `Tree of life', Hemendranath Mazumdar's `Model in studio', Prokash Karamkar's `Women in landscape', Tyeb Mehta's `Falling head' were among those sold.

The auction conducted by actor Rajit Kapur, saw a tempo being built over the evening as paintings were bid for, even through telephones and written bids.

Kapur, sucessfully set the mood for the evening, with his well-modulated voice, echoing the popular refrain "going, going, gone..." In various tones, and interspersing the bids with some wise cracks.

As the `Panels' went up, the telephone bidders staked claim and the written bids poured in, the auction was marked by varying moods with euphoric buyers smiling at a deal struck, others sighing over a painting lost for a couple of thousands, and the nail biting finish for some of the coveted works.

The rather-sombre mood of the evening saw some rise and fall of fortunes as those striking a good deal toasted over a glass of champagne while some having lost to a higher bidder, making a quiet exit.