Untitled by MF Husain; estimated at $120,000 to $180,000
March 4, 2021: Throughout March, auction house Christie’s is holding its traditional South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art Sale on March 17 as Live auction, which will be accompanied by an online sale which is open for bidding until March 18. Additionally Christie’s will offer an online sale entitled Calligraphy: Art in writing which will include works by South Asian, Middle Eastern artist and Islamic art opening for bidding on March 17 until April 7.
Untitled by FN Souza; estimated at $150,000 to $250,000
Christie’s South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction celebrates a wide variety of artistic practices from the South Asian subcontinent and its diaspora across the 20th and 21st centuries.
The online sale includes excellent modern works on paper by artists Maqbool Fida Husain, Francis Newton Souza, Manjit Bawa, Prabhakar Barwe and Jogen Chowdhury, alongside those by their mentors and pioneers of regional schools like Abdul Rahman Chughtai, Walter Langhammer, Nek Chand, K.G. Ramanujam and Kamrul Hasan. Of particular note are early works by Souza, K.H. Ara and Satish Gujral, originally from the collection of the eminent critic Rudy von Leyden.
'Portrait of Denyse' by Amrita Sher-Gil; estimated at $1,800,000 to $2,800,000
Rounding out the online catalogue is a section of exceptional works by modern Pakistani artists including Zahoor ul Akhlaq, Jamil Naqsh, Ismail Gulgee and Ahmed Parvez, and a group of contemporary works by artists including Surendran Nair, Nilima Sheikh, Arpana Caur and Paresh Maity.
Part I of the live auction is led by important early works by Amrita Sher-Gil (a recently discovered ‘Portrait of Denyse’ circa 1932), Tyeb Mehta (Confidant, 1962) and Francis Newton Souza (Family, 1946). Also included are exceptional examples by modern masters Maqbool Fida Husain, Sayed Haider Raza and Narayan Shridhar Bendre. Also featured is a fine group of paintings by Krishen Khanna from the collection of Arthur and Lilly Banwell, acquired directly from the artist over the course of a long family friendship and held privately for over half a century. A diverse contemporary section includes impressive prints and a sculpture by Zarina, and significant works by the region’s most renowned practitioners like Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Ranjani Shettar, Jitish Kallat and Subodh Gupta, to name a few.
Abstract Collage by Benodebehari Mukherjee; estimated at $12,000 to $18,000
Part II includes a significant collection of works by Benodebehari Mukherjee (1904-1980) from the Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation. Ethereal landscapes by this pioneer of modern Indian art are complemented by a group of figurative works and nature studies representing every phase of his career. Particularly important are collages, sketches and prints from the final stage of his life, executed after the artist’s complete loss of eyesight.