MF Husain’s work fetches more than Rs. 10.5 crore

An auction of works by late modern artist MF Husain netted more than Rs. 10.52 crore in Mumbai on Thursday, auction house Pundole has announced. Riddhi Doshi reports.

An auction of works by late modern artist MF Husain netted more than Rs. 10.52 crore in Mumbai on Thursday, auction house Pundole has announced.

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A total of 145 works were up for grabs, all from the private collection of late publisher and author Badrivishal Pitti, a close friend and early patron of Husain and a man whom the late artist referred to as one of his first collectors.

Pitti’s collection of Husain works spans several decades is said to be one of the finest collections of the artist’s works. Of the 145 works put up at the auction, 141 were sold.

An untitled 1965 canvas of horses and nudes fetched the highest individual sum — Rs 2.2 crore — far higher than the Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.20 crore it was expected to fetch.

Other highlights of the sale included an unusual abstract canvas titled Maiden Flight, which sold for Rs 50 lakh, and a small work titled Woman with Bird, sold for Rs 38 lakh.

“This was the first standalone auction of any artist in India and for me it was a dream come true to have the opportunity to sell this historic collection,” said Dadiba Pundole of Pundole’s auction house.