Artist FN Souza’s artwork Man and Woman Laughing fetches whopping Rs 16.84 crore. Yeah, indeed a reason to smile!
It seems like art market is swinging upward, and see how! At an art auction hosted by Saffronart in Mumbai, modern artist FN Souza’s work entitled Man and Woman Laughing has been sold for Rs 16.84 crore, breaking all previous records for the artist. Formerly from the collection of Harold Kovner, Souza’s most important patron, it belongs to a particularly vital period of the artist’s career. Kovner discovered Souza’s work in 1956 and financially supported the artist to promote his works. The duration of this patronage, which lasted four years, was instrumental in allowing Souza more freedom to paint, and achieve greater creative success than ever before.
Many more big transactions took place at this auction! Tyeb Mehta’s Standing Figure (1982) sold for over Rs 11.51 crore. The Standing Figure bears a clarity of design and composition that is a departure from Mehta’s falling figures and trussed bulls. Its importance is heightened by its provenance: The Davida and Chester Herwitz Collection. The Herwitzes amassed one of the world’s largest collections of Modern Indian art and helped place it on an international pedestal.
Among the contemporaries, G Ravinder Reddy’s nine foot-tall Devi (1998)achieved a bid of Rs. 2.7 crore. It was previously exhibited at the Arthur M Sackler Museum in Washington DC, and was exhibited at other international institutions between 1998 and 2008. The monumental head is a striking blend of tradition and kitsch, and one of the largest he ever created. An acrylic on canvas by SH Raza was sold for over Rs 4.8 crore. Akbar Padamsee’s luminous untitled work was also a top draw fetching Rs 4.2 crore.
Overall, the art auction minted over Rs 82 crore. 🙂
