Auction Report

Sotheby's

Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale

May 3

Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale at Sotheby's New York achieved $170,478,000, within the overall pre-sale estimate ($158.9/229.7 million). The auction was 74.6% sold by lot, and saw a total of 37 works sell for over $1 million. Pablo Picasso's Femmes lisant (Deux personnages) was the top lot of the night, achieving $21,362,500, painted in 1934, the work is a striking portrayal of Marie-Thérèse Walterthe artist's beloved mistress during the 1930sreading with her sister. The canvas is among the most monumental of the iconic series of pictures depicting the young woman, and was last on the market in 1981 and auction records were established for the Surrealist artist Paul Delvaux and for a sculpture by Paul Gauguin.

“This evening's sale saw solid bidding activity from around the world, both in the room and on the phones,” said Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Department in New York. “Pablo Picasso was our dominant artist tonight. We sold a fabulous selection of eight works spanning his career which was led by our cover lot, an exceptional image of Marie-Thérèse Walter and her sister reading that sold for more than $21 million. Another high point of the night was the Jawlensky, a prime work by the artist and the finest we have seen since we achieved the world record in 2008.”


 

Important Watches

May 15
Property of a Trust - Piguet & Capt, Genève

The noteworthy Watch Auction fetched a sale total of 7, 754, 000 CHF, which includes the buyers' premium. Rolex, Breguet ET Fils were some of the top sellers.

The highlight of the auction being this Flattened pear form, front fitted with an oval medallion painted with a polychrome enamel trophy of agriculture against an architectural setting, the reverse with a musical trophy heightened in tones of yellow and white enamel against an opaque green enamel ground, each panel with midnight blue translucent enamel reserves over engine-turning, the upper portion further set with translucent red enamel on an engine-turned ground and heightend by a flower laden cornucopia below a quiver and arrow, the reverse similarly enamelled and heightened by a basket of flowers, the sides engraved with a running band of leaf tips framed within egg and dart mouldings and heightened with champlevé enamel powder blue and black enamel, threaded stopper, pinned barrel musical movement comprising six teeth divided between the top and bottom, music regulated by a governor, the music released by means of a lever below the front panel, music work scratched Piguet & Capt a Geneve, no. 124, the interior of the top cover stamped G.D.

Lot Sold.  Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 242,500 CHF

American Indian Art

May 18
Collection of James and Michele Mangan.

Oglala Sioux Beaded and Fringed Hide War Shirt of classic design, composed of two finely tanned deerskin hides, seamed across the top with a transverse neck opening, painted with yellow and blue pigments, sinew sewn on the front and back in numerous shades of tiny glass seed beads, with a radiant medallion, the shoulders and sleeves with hide strips sinew sewn in red, blue, and two shades of green against a white ground, with linear motifs, the bibs, in similar colors, with a split-panel design, trimmed with quill-wrapped hair pendants and silk ribbon in mustard yellow and deep green.

Lot Sold.  Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 2,658,500 USD

Bonham's

Prints

May 3

A Surreal Success - Dali, Warhol, Chagall Highlight Bonhams & Butterfields $1.6-Million Fine Prints Auction

On May 3, 2011, Bonhams & Butterfields was honored to present its $1.6-million Fine Prints auction, marked by strong surrealism sales: the exceptional $134,000 purchase of Salvador Dalí's La Divine Comédie, a complete signed portfolio of 100 color wood engravings from Dante Alighieri, L'Enfer, La Purgatoire, and Le Paradis, estimated at $50,000-70,000; and The Magic Flute, an After Marc Chagall, color lithograph on wove paper, estimated at $20,000-30,000 that sold for $42,700.

The successful auction, held in San Francisco and simulcast in Los Angeles, also presented iconic Pop Art and abstract Expressionism highlights by famed artists Andy Warhol and Richard Diebenkorn - whose works sold very well. Andy Warhol's signed Marilyn Monroe color screenprint, circa 1967, was estimated at $40,000-60,000 and sold for $79,300; Richard Diebenkorn's initialed Blue with Red, circa 1987, color woodcut on Echizen Kozo Mashi paper was estimated at $20,000-30,000 and sold for $42,700; and Diebenkorn's initialed Spreading Spade, from the Clubs and Spades series, 1981, a color spite-bite aquatint and etching with drypoint, took in $20,740. Warhol's Chicken 'n Dumplings, circa 1969, was estimated at $8,000-10,000 and sold for $17,080.

Bonhams & Butterfields' Fine Prints Director Judith Eurich said of the sale: "Historically, the auction brought the best results the Prints Department has ever seen. There was a great amount of interest and competitive bidding all around."

The highly anticipated sale also featured above and beyond results with the sales of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's Caudieux, a color lithograph, estimated at $15,000-25,000, sold for $30,500; Keith Haring's Pop Shop IV, complete set of 4 color screenprints, each signed and estimated at $15,000-20,000, sold for $29,280; the White-headed Eagle, Male, an After John James Audubon handcolored engraving with aquatint and etching, from the Havell edition of The Birds of America, estimated at $6,000-8,000, sold for $19,520; Femme au Chevalet, an After Claude Monet color lithograph, signed by Monet and Thornley, estimated at $8,000-12,000, sold for $18,300; and Eight by Eight to Celebrate the Temporary Contemporary by artists Richard Diebenkorn, Sam Francis, David Hockney, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, and Andy Warhol, 1983, comprised of 7 of 8 prints of various media, each signed and estimated at $18,000-25,000, sold for $18,300.

Also featured were impressive works such as a Claude Monet signed Untitled (Lady at Easel) lithograph, circa 1908, estimated at $8,000-12,000, sold for $18,300 and a Pablo Picasso signed Femme nue à la Jambe pliée etching on Montval laid paper and watermarked 'Picasso,' circa 1931, estimated at $8,000-10,000 and sold for $11,590.

 

Christie's

Francis Bacon masterpieces achieve $ 34,885,000 at the auction block

May 11

The sale of two works by one of the greatest British painters of the 20th Century, Francis Bacon (1912-1992) i.e. the Three Studies for Self Portrait, 1974 and Untitled (Crouching Nude on Rail), 1952, realized more than $34 million combined at Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on May 11, 2011. The paintings exhibit Bacon's timeless sinuous renditions of elasticized flesh that touch on the human condition and the fleeting nature of life. Bacon's unequivocally timeless, richly-hued self-portraits convey psychological intensity akin to Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Bacon's depictions of himself express with haunting power the existential nature of the human condition. Having suffered the loss of many near to him in the mid-1970s including the death of his lover, George Dyer Bacon embraced the cathartic exercise of painting himself during this period of grief, guilt and self-reflection.

Painted in 1974, the triptych shows the artist with eyes shut in sleep, pain or contemplation and varied in degrees from twisted expression to mutilation, offering the piece a powerful sense of motion, and fragility. This work was acquired over 35 years by the present owner. It was exhibited in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art's in 1975 and at the Fondation Beyeler, in Basel, Switzerland in 1999. The highest price was however gone to Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Self-Portrait, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, in four parts, painted in 1963-1964 acquiring $38,442,500 much above its estimated price ($20,000,000 - 30,000,000).

Phillips De Pury

New York Contemporary May Sales

May 12-13

Phillips De Pury & Company announces Strong Results for the May Contemporary Art Sales totaling $108,142,400
World Records set for Thomas Houseago and Jean-michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol
The results of the Phillips de Pury & Company Contemporary Art Part I sale is totalling $98,825,500 and selling $91.53% by value and 78% by lot.

The iconic portrait of the legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor stole the show selling for over 26 million while works by blue chip artists including Roy Lichtenstein and Ed Ruscha demonstrated the continued demand and strength of the market.

“We're thrilled with the strong results of the evening sale. Our results tonight are more than double this time last year due to the strengthening of the market and also to our new location at 450 Park Avenue, which has boosted the company.” Simon de Pury, Chairman and Chief Auctioneer of Philips de Pury & Company.

Contemporary Art Part I Top Lot Andy Warhol Liz #5 1963 Sells for $26,962,500

Artist world records:
Lot 4 Thomas Houseago Untitled $98,500
Lot 20 Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol Third eye $7,026,500

Sotheby's

The best of contemporary art under the hammer

June 1

In 1954, under the Sicilian blazing sun, Nicolas de Staël painted Agrigente, an authentic masterpiece done three years before the artist's death. The Sicilian landscapes, have always been considered as one of de Staël's most successful series: combining the shocking colors inherited from the Fauves to the abstract schematization of surroundings coming from his own vision. Sotheby's Paris will feature such an incandescent highlight along with other rare pieces in their Contemporary Art sale on June 1 including La Flamme by Wols, one of the only 80 oils on canvas by the father of Informal Art. Acquired directly from the famous French Art dealer René Drouin, it remained in the same collection since 1948. The Evening Sale also boasts two important canvases by Zao Wou-Ki, one of them comes from the Estate of Patti Birch, the artist's legendary dealer. A suite of 12 sheep designed by François-Xavier Lalanne - half sculptures, half seats, on the back of which the visitors of the Young French Painting Exhibition in 1966 could gather and chat - also will be included in this sale.

The other highlights are three strong artworks of different periods, from the historic 50s to the Outrenoir, by the French Master of Black. Coinciding with the artist's retrospective in the Pompidou Center, the François Morellet large minimalist composition painted of black dashes demonstrates hypnotic power. An exciting and panoramic tour throughout the post-war and Contemporary schools is followed up in the Day Sale by significant artworks by Riopelle and Lanskoy, along with Dubuffet and the Nouveaux Réalistes, Martial Raysse, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Tinguely, César and Arman, as well as famous International artiste, Haring, Wesselman, Saura, Nara, Muniz and Cattelan.




19th Century European Painting on sale

June 7

This sale offers a broad range of Dutch Romantic paintings as well as works by artists from The Hague and Amsterdam School. One of the highlights is Willem Koekkoek's Winter in the Streets of a Dutch Town (lot 22). After growing up in Amsterdam, Willem Koekkoek became one of the most distinguished painters of townscapes, travelling throughout the Netherlands. His paintings were greatly admired all over Europe for their nostalgic mood and uniquely refined and detailed style of painting. The present lot is an impressive example, not only because of its size, but also because of its ability to capture Holland's Age of Romanticism.

A further significant highlight is Sunday Mass by Gari Melchers (lot 61). Attracted by the pictorial side of Holland, this American artist took special interest in depicting devotional peasantwomen with their colourful patterned dresses. During his life Melchers received multiple awards, establishing him as the leading American proponent of Naturalism. The present lot has been in the collection of Walther Rathenau, the Berlin industrialist and founder of the German Democratic Party, who was murdered in 1922 by officers of the extreme right wing party because of his Jewish background and political ideas.

Also included in this sale are five paintings from an important Canadian collection, each painting being a highlight in the artist's oeuvre, including works by Cornelis Springer, Petrus van Schendel, Andreas Schelfhout, Salomon Verveer and Nicolaas Johannes Roosenboom.

From another private collection and in the family of the present owner since 1964, is an impressive iceview by the master of winter scenes, Andreas Schelfhout. This painting has all the elements an attractive winter landscape should have: windmills, skaters and refreshment stall with figures having a drink.

Dutch impressionism is represented by several paintings and watercolours, all fresh to the market, and including artists like Jacob Maris, Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Isaac Israels and Floris Arntzenius. From a private collection in Canada a large canvas by Jozef Israels is offered, depicting an interior scene with a fishermen's family, a subject which made Israels internationally respected as the master of Dutch realism.





Greek vases for the picking

June 8

The majority of the sale is devoted to one of the largest collections of Greek vases to have appeared at auction in the last decade: the Collection of Sideo Fromboluti and Nora Speyer, which the two New York artists assembled together between the mid 1960s and the early 1970s. Most of the vases are Attic and some have particularly prestigious collection histories. For instance, a black-figured amphora with foot-race and departure scenes by the Swing Painter was acquired by William Randolph Hearst at the sale of the collection of Lord St. Audries in 1920; a black-figured Hydria painted with a weedding procession probably comes from the Castellani collection and was sold at Sotheby's London in 1919; and a particularly fine late Attic red-figured hydria with wedding preparations, attributed to the Marsyas Painter, was first exhibited in London in 1904 and sold at auction as part of the Oppenheimer collection in 1936.

Among the highlights of the rest of the sale are two Roman marble sarcophagus reliefs: an exceptionally large and dramatic panel representing the Abduction of Persephone, and a long frieze showing the deceased surrounded by deities and Muses, both formerly in the collection of the 2nd Earl of Shelburne in the late 18th Century. They are reunited here for the first time since 1930, when they were removed from the wall of the ballroom at Lansdowne House in London, where they had been displayed side by side for more than 150 years.





Evill/Frost Collections, Parts 1, 2 and 3

June 15/16

The Evill/Frost Collection is the most prestigious group of 20th Century British Art ever to come to auction. The works were collected by London solicitor Wilfrid Evill between 1925 and 1960 and will now be sold by the executors of the estate of Honor Frost, the pioneering marine archaeologist, to benefit charitable causes. The central element of the collection is a group of paintings and drawings by Stanley Spencer including some of the most important examples of his work.

Beyond these we find a rich vein of paintings, drawings, watercolours and sculptures that evince the knowledge and understanding of a true collector with works by Lucian Freud (lots 2, 25), Henry Moore (lots 4, 20), Edward Burra (lots 1, 21, 30) and William Roberts (lots 5, 11, 22). This collection also includes a very fine group of 18th Century French porcelain and important Regency furniture as well as other decorative arts from a variety of periods.

Part 2 of the collection consists of works by Robert Bevan, Graham Sutherland, Edward Burra and William Roberts. This collection also includes a very fine group of 18th Century French porcelain and important Regency furniture as well as other decorative arts from a variety of periods

Part 3 consists of the finest Vincennes and Sévres porcelain superbly represented by Lot 253, a cased tea set acquired by the legendry actor David Garrick in Paris in 1764. Other treasures include Lot 323, a fabulous Regency table, attributed to George Bullock that was most likely commissioned for Napoleon. There is a rich array across a variety of collecting categories with Sculpture, Tribal Art, Silver, Rugs and Carpets, Jewels and even a letter from William IV. The lots offered in Part 3 reflect the desire of Wilfrid Evill to buy only the very best, fusing together different objects of great depth which when integrated with his wonderful pictures formed a truly exciting visual aesthetic experience.

Christie's

Important Chinese ceramic & works of art

June 1

The highlight of this sale is a Ming Dynasty gilt-bronze figure of Vairocana is superbly cast seated in vajrasana, the sole of each exposed foot incised with the Wheel of Transmigration, falun, the right hand placed over the folded left hand, tips of both index finger touching in a gesture of abhisekana mudra, the full face with eyes downcast in serene contemplation, the hair arranged in rows of small whorls behind a highly elaborate five-leaf diadem, each leaf accommodating the Tathagata within a double-arched nimbus, the bare chest, above the inner garment tied by a ribbon, lining of the garment chased with scrolling composite floral blooms; the figure is seated on a separately cast throne formed by three layers of lotus petals, supported on a raised circular foot, cast in openwork with scrolling leaves 43 ¼ in. (110 cm.) overall height

Another highlight is an exceptionally rare Qingbai seated figure of Guanyin from the Southern Song Dynasty modelled with the upper body gently leaning forward, seated with legs crossed and arms folded under a voluminous robe, the garment worn over the head partially exposing a finely reticulated floral diadem accommodating the Amitabha, the rounded face exquisitely and naturalistically carved with finely detailed eyes, a straight nose and indented lips providing a serene expression, the toro adorned with a network of beaded jewellery chains, suspended above the multi-folds of the inner garment, the outer robe covered with a characteristic pale blue glaze, pooling in recesses, reserving the head and upper body in the biscuit, the base unglazed 11 ½ in. (29.2 cm.) high.

Valuable printed books & manuscripts on sale

June 8

18 works in 17 volumes decorated with painted fore-edges by Cesare Vecellio or original drawings on vellum by Vecellio or other artists for the Pillone Library at Belluno, Italy, c. 1580s, on books printed between 1478 and 1582 are being offered.

As a group, these 17 volumes represent all aspects of the renowned Pillone Library. The bindings include examples of early acquisitions in plain half-leather, those from unassigned contemporary Italian binderies, Belluno bindings from Bindery A and Bindery B, contemporary German bindings probably from Augsburg and Munich, and three books in Italian vellum with original drawings on their covers. Many books have the characteristic vellum flyleaves which appear to have served as an original protective wrapper; two carry contemporary manuscript instructions to the binder to make a half- or full-leather binding ('a fondello' and 'coperto', respectively). In one work has survived the instruction for the fore-edge painting itself.

The books date from 1478 to 1582 and thus span the lifetime of three generations of Pillone collectors, Antonio, Odorico and Giorgio. Antonio's notes grace some of the volumes; Odorico's large acquisition of northern books from Germany are represented; and his and Giorgio's continued fascination with history and antiquity is evident in the subject matter of the later books.

The content of the books is also representative of the collection as a whole, ranging from classical texts to theology, science, medicine, history and topography. The imagery of the decoration is accordingly diffuse and includes a range of author portraits, classical and Renaissance motifs, and scenes of Russia, Ravenna and maps on the vellum covers.

A touch of Rome

June 9

The highlight of this sale is a roman marble group of Pan and Hermaphrodite from the first century AD with Pan seated on a goatskin draped over a rock, the goat head and forelegs hanging to Pan's right, a wineskin below on the integral plinth, Pan depicted ithyphallic, with a twisting muscular human torso, his shaggy goat legs spread and bent at the knees with the feet angled in, Hermaphrodite seated on Pan's left thigh with the left leg bent back, the right leg crossing over and projecting forward, depicted as a voluptuous woman but with male genitalia, a mantle wrapped around the legs low across the thighs, revealing the genitalia, and originally draped over the now missing left arm, Pan with his left arm around Hermaphrodite's back, his hand on Hermaphrodite's left breast, their fingers originally intertwined, Hermaphrodite's right arm extending out with the hand gripping Pan's hair, Pan with his right arm raised and originally bent at the elbow, his fingers intertwined with Hermaphrodite's on top of his head, Pan with an expressive face, with wild eyes beneath knitted brows, pointed ears, a full beard and an open mouth, his hair a mass of thick wavy locks 41 5/16 in. (105 cm.) high.

Another highlight is a Roman Marble Hercules dated between the first and second century A.D.
Over-life sized, originally standing with his weight on his right leg and his left slightly advanced, with a slight hip thrust to the left, his right arm originally pulled back with the hand resting on the hip, the left arm originally lowered, with remnants of his club visible in the armpit, his torso bent forward, creating a crease through his abdomen, his burly musculature well defined, puntelli preserved on the reverse, 34½ in. (87.6 cm.) high

A Roman marble Isis forms the third hightlight of the sale, again dated between the first and the second century AD in the Archaistic style, standing with her right leg advanced, wearing thick-soled sandals, a floor-length chiton with crinkly folds, buttoned on the right sleeve, and a voluminous himation wrapped tightly around her body, revealing her voluptuous form beneath, the himation over her left shoulder, diagonally across her breasts and under her right elbow, the overfold falling in stepped folds across her thighs, with a long vertical fold falling between her legs and cascading irregular folds clinging to her legs, a mass of zigzag folds falling below her left arm, the arm originally projecting outward, her right arm bent at the elbow, holding a lotus flower in her raised hand, her hair falling in corkscrew curls, two tendrils onto each shoulder, with a long mass cinched at the back of the neck and splaying below; with late 18th century restorations, including the right forearm, some drapery edges, and part of the plinth including the front of the right foot 24 in. (60.9 cm.) high

Phillips De Pury

Jewels

June 7

The Jewels Auction return to London, taking place on June 7th and comprising over 300 lots.

The main highlight of the auction is a spectacular and important emerald & diamond parure comprising of a necklace, bracelet and earrings. Accompanied by an SSEF report, dated April 2011, stating the emeralds to have a total estimated weight of 213 carats, and to be of Colombian origin; 7 emeralds to exhibit no clarity enhancement; 12 to exhibit minor enhancement. Total diamond weight estimated to be approximately 135.00 carats. Assembling such a selection of natural emeralds of this purity and colour match is exceptional and the parure with its combination of outstanding characteristics is a very rare treasure. Estimated at £1,600,000  2,000,000

Other highlights include an important collection of Bucellati including: A unique jade and diamond suite, documented in published literature, and exhibited in: Bucellati: Timeless Art, Moscow Kremlin Museums, September 2008 January 2009, estimated at £75,000  85,000. Comprising of necklace, bracelet and earrings. This suite took Gianmaria Bucellati a total of fifteen years to position and link the individual pieces of imperial jade within the overall design. The end result is an exquisite and harmonious flow of jade and diamonds set in the distinctive refined yellow gold lacework for which Buccellati is reknown.

An important Burma ruby and diamond demi-parure, comprising of 117 carats of unheated Burma rubies, and 48 carats of diamonds, accompanied by a Gubelin report. Estimated at £220,000  250,000

Natural Fancy Coloured Diamond Necklace & Bracelet Suite. Estimated total diamond weight: Necklace 189.0ct; Bracelet 25.0ct. Estimated at £280,000  300,000

Bonham's

Jamini Roy highlights at Modern Contemporary South Asian & Middle East Art

June 1

After a pretty long time, the works of Jamini Roy will make a reappearance on the international circuit. His Landscape with Pond, tempera on card, initialed J.R. lower right, an unfinished landscape painting on the reverse, framed, 32 x 41.2cm (12 5/8 x 16 1/4in) is estimated at £3,000 - 5,000, $ 4,900 - 8,200 acquired from a private collectionof the Fine Art Centre, Wiesental, Germany in 2004.

Then there would be his Horse, tempera on card, signed lower right, framed, 47.7 x 31.2cm (18 3/4 x 12 5/16in) estimated at £4,000 - 6,000, $ 6,600 - 9,900, acquired by a private collection directly from the artist in 1953 by Mr and Mrs Gray, an American couple who lived in Calcutta in the early 1950s. This was further aquired from their son by the present owner in 2005.

The third highlight would be Deities and Cows, tempera on card, signed lower right, framed, 50.8 x 59.7cm (20 x 23 ½in), estimated at £5,000 - 8,000, $ 8,200 - 13,000 acquired from a private collection in USA from an estate sale in Missouri.

Jewellery

June 8

The auction is segregated into 3 sections, comprising totally 674 lots with a wide variety of coins, watches, and jewellery and silver articles. The highlight will be Lot No. 327, there is a ruby and diamond necklace formed as a graduated row of open oval links, set throughout with circular-cut rubies and joined by bars set with trios of old round brilliant-cut diamonds, to a diamond-set clasp, length 44cm, the rubies estimated to weigh approximately 9.36cts in total, the diamonds estimated to weigh approximately 4.50cts in total. The estimated value would be £5,000 - 7,000.

June 8

The hightlight is a very fine and rare early 18th century 22ct gold repousse repeating pair case pocket watch, London, Circa 1720, Gilt full plate verge movement with central pierced and engraved balance cock with steel 3 arm balance, silvered regulation, two polished hammers striking on an internal bell, finely engraved champleve dial with Roman chapter and outer five minute Arabic numerals, signed in the centre Dunlop, London, steel shaped hands, inner engraved case with pierced sound frets, push repeat activated via the engraved pusher, finely engraved outer case stamped I.W for the casemaker John Ward of Boars Head Court, Fleet Street, London with pierced and engraved foliate design and four profiles in relief, heavy squared hinge, dial and movement signed 55m, estimated at £4,000 - 6,000, € 4,600 - 6,900, $ 6,500 - 9,800.

Another highlight is a Thomas and John Barton. An 18th century repoussé pair case pocket watch, London Hallmark for 1767, Gilt full plate movement signed Thomas and John Barton and numbered 906, Manchester, with pierced and engraved balance cock jewelled to the centre, silver three arm balance, silvered regulation, enamel dial with black Roman numerals and outer five minute divisions, cut and chased hands, squared baluster pillars, signed gilt dust-cap, polished inner hinged case, outer repoussé case 47mm, estimated at £1,200 - 1,800, € 1,400 - 2,100, $ 2,000 - 2,900.

June 15-16, 2011

Features 65 exceptional works by 30 modern and contemporary Indian artists with a total estimate of Rs. 1.69 crore (US$ 3.89 million) to Rs. 2.23 crore (US$ 5.13 million) Saffronart, will showcase an important selection of works by modern masters and contemporary artist. The auction includes a wide variety of paintings, sculptures and installations by leading artists including S.H. Raza, Tyeb Mehta, Jogen Chowdhury, Manjit Bawa, G. Ravinder Reddy, Bharti Kher and Jitish Kallat.

Highlights of this sale include a wide range of paintings by modern masters like S.H. Raza, Tyeb Mehta, F.N. Souza and Jogen Chowdhury, as well as outstanding works by contemporary artists such as Bharti Kher, Anju Dodiya, Jitish Kallat and G. Ravinder Reddy.

Among the highlights of this sale is S.H. Raza's exquisite 1951 painting titled 'Carcassonne'. On his move to France in the early 1950s, Raza began experimenting with orchestration in his drawings and paintings using as elements of construction the houses and churches of rural France. Although inspired by the French countryside, these new landscapes were devoid of human presence and did not indicate any particular time or place.

Another significant modern work on offer is Tyeb Mehta's 'Untitled (Kali)' from 1998. An associate of the Bombay-based Progressive Artists' Group, Tyeb Mehta's career spanned several decades, styles, and media.

Some of the contemporary highlights of the catalogue are G. Ravinder Reddy's iconic 'Gopika' from 2003; Bharti Kher's 2007 bindis and velour fabric on painted wooden panel titled 'Rugged Terrain'; and Jitish Kallat's monumental 2002 painting 'Italics (War Dance).