New York:
Legendary Indian artist M F Husain's paintings have fetched a whopping US $582,500 in the Sotheby's autumn series of Asian sales, securing three of the top 10 bids in an auction that occurred on his 94th birthday.
He was present in the saleroom and received resounding applause from the audience. Around seven clients contended for his 'Bewildered Brown,' which fetched US $338,500. His other paintings, 'Women in Yellow' and Untitled (Maya V) fetched US $140,000 and US $104,000 respectively.
The highest price was achieved by V S Gaitonde's untitled, which was chased by four clients and sold to a telephone bidder for US $602,500.
The second highest price went to Tyeb Mehta for "And behind me Desolation," which went for US $350,000 followed by Husain's painting.
"The sale, which exceeded the pre-sale estimate and was 90.9 per cent sold by value, confirms the growing confidence in the Indian market. We saw international bidding and buying, predominantly from private collectors, with a rejuvenated presence from our trade clients," said Zara Porter-Hill, Head of Indian and Southeast Asian Art at Sotheby.
The Art Auction House sold 70 per cent of their lots at the Asian sale. Additionally, in all three of their 2009 sales over 50 per cent of the lots sold reached prices above the high pre-sale estimate.
A group of Indian miniature paintings from the Estate of Ananda K Coomaraswamy was led by An Illustration to a Jataka Series 'The Sixth Dream of King Pasenadi', which exceeded the pre-sale estimate to bring US $88,900, according to Sotheby.
"This high sell-through rate is a testament to our balanced selection of quality works at competitive estimates and demonstrates that the market is underpinned by a broad collector base," Porter-Hill noted.
The Asian Sale brought in a total of US $19,280,279, double the high-end of the pre-sale estimate of 12.3 million. The sale of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, including Indian Miniature Paintings brought US $3,747,800, according to the Sotheby office.
Other Indian artists in the top 10 include - late Francis Newton Souza born in Goa in 1924, contemporary artist Ram Kumar who also born in 1924 in Shimla, and living legend Syed Haider Raza born in 1922 in Babaria, Madhya Pradesh.
The buyers were mostly Indian and US private clients as well as one European.
Sotheby's was founded in 1744 and is presently the world's second oldest international auction house in operation.
He was present in the saleroom and received resounding applause from the audience. Around seven clients contended for his 'Bewildered Brown,' which fetched US $338,500. His other paintings, 'Women in Yellow' and Untitled (Maya V) fetched US $140,000 and US $104,000 respectively.
The highest price was achieved by V S Gaitonde's untitled, which was chased by four clients and sold to a telephone bidder for US $602,500.
The second highest price went to Tyeb Mehta for "And behind me Desolation," which went for US $350,000 followed by Husain's painting.
"The sale, which exceeded the pre-sale estimate and was 90.9 per cent sold by value, confirms the growing confidence in the Indian market. We saw international bidding and buying, predominantly from private collectors, with a rejuvenated presence from our trade clients," said Zara Porter-Hill, Head of Indian and Southeast Asian Art at Sotheby.
The Art Auction House sold 70 per cent of their lots at the Asian sale. Additionally, in all three of their 2009 sales over 50 per cent of the lots sold reached prices above the high pre-sale estimate.
A group of Indian miniature paintings from the Estate of Ananda K Coomaraswamy was led by An Illustration to a Jataka Series 'The Sixth Dream of King Pasenadi', which exceeded the pre-sale estimate to bring US $88,900, according to Sotheby.
"This high sell-through rate is a testament to our balanced selection of quality works at competitive estimates and demonstrates that the market is underpinned by a broad collector base," Porter-Hill noted.
The Asian Sale brought in a total of US $19,280,279, double the high-end of the pre-sale estimate of 12.3 million. The sale of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, including Indian Miniature Paintings brought US $3,747,800, according to the Sotheby office.
Other Indian artists in the top 10 include - late Francis Newton Souza born in Goa in 1924, contemporary artist Ram Kumar who also born in 1924 in Shimla, and living legend Syed Haider Raza born in 1922 in Babaria, Madhya Pradesh.
The buyers were mostly Indian and US private clients as well as one European.
Sotheby's was founded in 1744 and is presently the world's second oldest international auction house in operation.
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