Rare album, postcards rule the roost
Paintings by Bengali artists and some vintage postcards outdid Hussain's works to emerge the star attraction.
An album of paintings by Bengali artists and some vintage postcards outdid works of M F Hussain to emerge the star attraction at an auction here.
Of the 94 lots which went under the hammer at last night's auction of 'Indian and Hollywood Film Memorabilia & Fine Popular Cultures of India,' 73 were sold, helping organisers rack up a sum of Rs 81.08 lakh.
"The money goes back into art and cinema, that's the whole idea of this company," said actor Rajat Kapoor, an auctioneer with Mumbai-based Osian's for the past three years.
Professional art collector and dealer Ashish Anand, who has been in the business for eight years, snapped up the rare album of Bengali artists with a winning bid of Rs 17.82 lakh.
He was also the buyer of the evening's second highest sale - churning out Rs 12.07 lakh for a collection of vintage postcards depicting India's architectural heritage.
"The collection was quite rare," Anand said adding that he intended his latest acquisition to be part of a personal collection of postcards.
Photographer Raghu Rai's famous depiction of a child victim of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy fetched Rs 42,000, while posters of Satyajit Ray films were picked up for prices ranging from Rs 13,000 to Rs 30,000.
Surprisingly, a collection of seriagraphs by artist M F Hussain, estimated at upwards of Rs 2 lakh, did not evince interest among art connoisseurs and remained unsold.
The auction, organised as part of the Osian's-Cinefan Film Festival currently underway in the capital city, has been envisaged as Chairman Neville Tuli's vision of "building Indian culture."
