MODERN MASTERS AND RARE WORKS OF ART

London

– Christie’s announces the South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art and Arts of India sales on 26 May 2016, presenting paintings by leading modern masters such as Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, Jehangir Sabavala, and Maqbool Fida Husain alongside unseen works of art from important private collections across the globe including the artist Ram Kumar, the Whaley Family and classical dance impresarios Lilavati & Bengt Häger. The sales will showcase over 300 years of artistic practice and will conclude with an online Indian Art sale entitled Images of Rajasthan. With estimates ranging from £350 to £800,000, these sales present unique opportunities for both new collectors and connoisseurs.

South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art

Following Christie’s 2015 India Sale in Mumbai, which set a new benchmark for Gaitonde and achieved a new world auction record for any modern Indian work of art, the London sale will offer one work on paper and two paintings by the master. The large pivotal canvas from 1958 (estimate: £800,000-1,200,000)

is one of the first examples of Gaitonde’s radical shift to a fundamentally non-objective form of art and part of the proceeds of the sale of this painting will benefit The Savara Foundation for the Arts. Gaitonde’s painting from 1975, the zenith of his oeuvre, will be offered from the family collection of close artist friend, Ram Kumar (estimate: £400,000-600,000). Both paintings trace the evolution of Gaitonde as a painter and philosopher and exemplify the delicate balance of light, texture, colour and space for which his canvases have received international acclaim after major retrospectives at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice in 2014-15.

Also established at the India Sale was a new world auction record for Jehangir Sabavala and the May auction will offer a timeless landscape by the artist,

The Bridge (2005, estimate: £200,000-300,000). With the Tate Modern opening of Bhupen Khakhar’s first UK major solo retrospective this June, the sale will present three works by Khakhar including At New Jersey (1986, estimate: £50,000-70,000) displaying the artist’s whimsical yet deeply moving portrayals of everyday life. The sale will also offer two prestigious private collections of significant works by Jamini Roy with rare canvases including Untitled (Krishna with Parrot) (estimate: £20,000-30,000). Furthermore the auction will celebrate modern Indian avant-garde sculpture with masterpieces by Ramkinkar Baij, Meera Mukherjee (estimate: £80,000-120,000) Sadanand Bakre and Himmat Shah.

Arts of India

Arts of India 

will offer collectors fine works of art from the Indian subcontinent dating from the late 16th to the early 20th centuries. From jewelled and enamelled pieces, including a late 19th century diamond-set gold bowl unusually decorated with astronomical figures (estimate: £20,000-30,000) to fine textiles and Indo-Portuguese furniture, the sale offers pieces for all tastes. Other highlights include a private collection of Mughal, Pahari and Rajput paintings acquired by a discerning private collector from Colnaghi (estimates ranging from £2,000-12,000), an illustration to the Bhagavata Purana: The Abduction of Rukmini, circa 1780-90 (estimate: £40,000-60,000) and a rare pilgrimage map of Vraj and the Yamuna River (Vrajyatra) from North India and dating to the second half of the 19th century (estimate: £30,000-40,000).

Indian Art Online: Images of Rajasthan 

Images of Rajasthan,

which opens online for bidding from 17 to 27 May, demonstrates the varied painting traditions of North India. Presenting examples from the most iconic artistic schools, this thoughtfully curated collection from a European connoisseur portrays the rich diversity of the Rajasthani courts at the hunt, at war or enjoying courtly pleasures. It also includes classical Ragamala depictions and scenes of well-known epics such as the Ramayana or Mahlma Satva. The subjects of these paintings are diverse but always painted in vibrant colours with exquisite details. Estimates range between $500 to $8,000.