After modern Indian artist Vasudeo S Gaitonde's work made headlines by going for a record-breaking $3.8 million at the Christie's auction in Mumbai earlier this year, his work was also received well at the recently-conducted Sotheby’s auction in New York. It fetched over $2.5 million (15.2cr) at the sale by global auctioneers.
Gaitonde’s Painting No 3, was the cover lot for the Modern and Contemporary South Asian art sale, which raked in over $6.6 million (`39.7cr) sales well within the pre-sale estimate of $5.3 million to $7.8 million, the auctioneers said.
The artist is set to the subject of a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York this autumn, making him one of the first Modern Indian artists to be have a retrospective in the United States.
The artist is set to the subject of a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York this autumn, making him one of the first Modern Indian artists to be have a retrospective in the United States.
Yamini Mehta of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, Sotheby’s said "Our sale had all the hallmarks of a strong result — quality works that were fresh to market with attractive prices. Bidders from around the world responded in kind, with over 90% of our lots sold by value. Over 97% of lots sold achieved prices at or above their pre-sale estimate."
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Priyanka Mathew of the auction house, said: "It was an honour to accept the winning bid for our museum-quality Gaitonde which sold for over $2.5 million, a further privilege to be the first South Asian auctioneer to take a bid over $1 million for an Indian work of art. While our sale was uniformly strong throughout, we saw particularly active bidding and engagement for the portraiture section, alongside works by South Indian masters and particularly impressive results for our contemporary offering."
Other sales include