9 artists broke public sale information at Sotheby’s trendy and modern South Asian sale in New York on March seventeenth. The sale totaled $16.8 million, greater than tripling its low estimate of $4.9 million (all costs embody charges).
“Breaking 9 world information for a number of artists from throughout South Asia, the public sale as soon as once more showcased the power and depth of this class,” mentioned Manjari Sihare Sutin, Sotheby’s specialist and co-worldwide head of contemporary and modern South Asian artwork. “Sotheby’s is proud to be constructing and increasing the dialog past what the world considers blue-chip trendy Indian artwork.”
The headline sale was Indian artist Jagdish Swaminathan’s triptych Homage to Solzhenitsyn (1973), which offered for $4.68 million, far exceeding its estimate of $1 million–$2 million. The artist’s earlier public sale report was set in December 2024 at Bonhams for Untitled (1991), which offered for $987,600.
The second most costly lot was Indian painter Jehangir Sabavala’s The Journey of the Magi (1963), which offered for $2.73 million after six bidders competed for the portray for 10 minutes. The portray soared previous its $600,000–$1.2 million estimate. Sabavala’s earlier public sale report was set at Christie’s in September 2021 when Embarkation (1965) offered for $1.59 million.
Works by the Indian modernist painter Francis Newton Souza additionally noticed important demand all through the night. The artist’s Oriental Metropolis (1958) offered for $1.17 million, greater than doubling its $550,000 excessive estimate. In the meantime, Souza’s Nonetheless Life With Flowers (1962) offered for $50,800, towards a $25,000–$35,000 estimate, and Untitled (n.d.) offered for $8,255, towards a $1,500–$2,500 estimate.
Aside from the work by Swaminathan and Sabavala, the extra seven public sale information damaged in the course of the sale have been as follows:
- Ganesh Pyne’s Untitled (1970) offered for $787,400 towards a$200,000–$300,000 estimate. The earlier report public sale worth was for Winter Morning (1971), which offered at Asta Guru Public sale Home in 2023 for $719,940.
- Madhvi Parekh’s Flower Vendor (1975) offered for $444,500, hovering previous its $20,000–$30,000 estimate. The artist’s earlier public sale report was set at Saffronart Mumbai in 2023 when Untitled (2017) offered for $40,670.
