Works of masters on auction

The 20th Century Indian Art Auction of 2017 will be held here on April 24, the DAG Modern announced on Wednesday. An extensive selection of 75 lots comprising the best paintings and sculptures of the 20th century will be put up for sale, the company said in a statement.

It be will DAG Modern's third auction since its formal entry into the auction space. The works will be offered at extremely attractive prices without the addition of the buyers’ premium charged by other auction houses.

On view will be works from the vast repertoire of artists ranging from masters such as Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Abanindranath Tagore to modernists M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza and V.S. Gaitonde, K.G. Subramanyan and Amrita Sher-Gil. The lead up to the live auction will be preceded by six special auction previews of all lots in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi.

The preview in Hyderabad will be held on April 6 and 7 at Park Hyatt. The first day is an invite-only special preview while the second day will be open for general viewing.

The main highlights of the auction are

• An early work by Amrita Sher-Gil – a rare self-portrait painted at the young age of 14 years in an academic drawing style (lot 12)
• The cover of the auction catalogue is a work by M. F.Husain Maya III (lot 53), a figurative work from the early 70s inspired by Indian temple sculpture. The rendering of the female body in the tribhanga pose also throws light on the connection between the rich temple art and classical dancing traditions of India.
• S. H. Raza’s Peinture (lot 43) from 1959. The explosion of colour and residual hints of form mark his departure from landscapes into the world of abstraction, making it an important bridge to his structured style to come.
• Works by artists deemed ‘national art treasures’: folk-style works by Jamini Roy (lots 1 and 16) and Nandalal Bose’s exquisite painting of a lotus that stands out for its delicacy (lot 28).
• The Bombay Presidency artists such as M. V. Dhurandhar and L. N. Taskar feature with remarkable works of religious themes. The Bombay Progressives are showcased by multiple works by M. F. Husain, Krishen Khanna’s brilliant early work of abstraction, F. N. Souza’s Heads, Ram Kumar’s abstract landscape, K. H. Ara’s combination of still-life and landscape.
• Modernist masters like J. P. Gangooly, K. K. Hebbar, Indra Dugar and K. G. Subramanyan are showcased with an array of landscapes and still-lifes. An A.A. Raiba features with a brilliant miniature art and Amrita Sher-Gil-inspired painting.

In addition to the above a host of significant Indian modernists, such as Manjit Bawa, Shanti Dave, V. S. Gaitonde, feature with early works while other important artists such as A. Ramachandran, R. D. Raval, P. T. Reddy, G. R. Santosh, Sohan Qadri, Somnath Hore and J. Swaminathan are featured with significant works in their recognisable styles, each of them taking Indian modern art to new directions.