JOIN USA 1931 landscape portrays a grassy path meandering along a thatched wall. While the light in the foreground is dappled, passing through a row of tall trees on the right, the sky beyond them is a bright, clear blue. Amrita Sher-Gil painted this while on a summer holiday in the Hungarian village of Zebegeny on the banks of the Danube. This ‘Untitled’ ( Zebegeny Landscape) oil on board is one of her rare landscape paintings, and is leading Saffronart’s summer online auction with an estimated price of Rs 3.9 to 5.2 crore.
Among other highlights is a significant 1953 painting by V S Gaitonde that refers to a pivotal moment in his oeuvre - when he was moving away from figurative to meditating abstraction. Estimated between Rs 52 to 65 lakh, this watercolour and pastel on paper is from the collection of Bilwa Chowdhury and Eleonore Chowdhury-Haberl. The Chowdhurys were among the earliest collectors of Indian art, and were involved in the nascent stages of the development of modern Indian art.
Other highlights of the auction are F N Souza’s ‘Untitled’ oil on board estimated between Rs 1.1 to 1.3 crore, and a seminal 1959 painting by K K Hebbar titled ‘Tile Factory’, estimated between Rs 16.25 to 22.75 lakh. Sculptures by artists like Himmat Shah and Sankho Chaudhuri are also on sale.
“The sale presents a very attractive and carefully considered selection that offers something for collectors at all stages and at different price points,” says Hugo Weihe, CEO, Saffronart.
A stainless steel installation by Subodh Gupta, estimated between Rs 97.5 lakh to 1.3 crore, is one of the highlights of contemporary Indian art. The selection also includes works by G Ravinder Reddy, Baiju Parthan, Sudarshan Shetty and Jitish Kallat.
The auction begins 9 am on 8 June on saffronart.com and concludes on 9 June.