Sotheby New York has announced its upcoming auction of The Amaya Collection: Modern & Contemporary Indian Art From Esteemed Collector Amrita Jhaveri. Art collector and author Amrita Jhaveri offers many significant modern and contemporary paintings produced by some of India’s finest artists in the late 20th century and some from the past decade.
The auction is comprised of 43 lots by well-known Indian artists that are expected to achieve a total profit of $5--$7 million. The proceeds from the sale will go toward providing additional space for the Khoj International Artists’ Association in New Delhi.
Leading the sale is an untitled painting from 1982 by Tyeb Mehta estimated to bring in between $800 million--$1.2 million. This Cubist style painting portrays a nude woman looking to her let and waving her arm at someone or something. She appears to be standing in an empty room with slanted walls in the background and with her features exaggerated.
Mehta completed this piece three years before he began his well-known triptych piece called Santinketan. In both works, the artist painted on muted palettes where the figures are portrayed against a light blue backdrop. Mehta has cited the styles of British author Francis Bacon and abstract painter Barnett Newman to be among his greatest influences.
Another intriguing highlight of the show is Maqbool Fida Husain’s 1963 cubist painting known as The Puppet Dancers estimated to sell between $200 million--$300 million. The painting captures Husain’s fascination with toys, which he developed while working at a furniture company in the 1940s where he designed and painted children’s toys which he cut from plywood.
The auction will be held March 19th at Sotheby’s New York, 1334 York Ave. at 72nd Street, (212) 606-7000.
Comments