A mix of artworks, photographs and sculptures that would come up for an auction in New York next month was showcased in the capital to an appreciative audience. By Team Viva

From the brightly-coloured oils in a myriad combination that looklike stain glass to bringing together of still life with human forms to a depiction of the famous horses and more — one could traverse through the works of who’s who of the art world at the Delhi Travex organised by Sotheby’s at a five star hotel in the capital.

There was a mix of artworks, photographs and sculptures from the remarkable artists from Bombay Progressives and Bengal School of Art which will be the key highlights at an auction in New York on March 18.

Yamini Mehta, international head of Indian and south Asian art, Sotheby’s pointed out that there were reasons for bringing only a few selected works from the auction. “We brought over works that have value, something that would catch people’s eye. These are the ones we thought will appeal to the audience. I wanted to bring the sculptures by Huma Bhabha as well but that would have cost a bit too much.

The travex was bifurcated between 17 paintings by prolific artists namely including G R Santosh, Ram Kumar and some of the modern and contemporary painters; two photographs by Steve McCurry, Henri Cartier-Bresson and one sculpture by Prodosh Dasgupta. Many of these works are fresh to the market since they have remained in private collections for several decades.

Even though there were works of MF Husain, Jogen Chowdhury, J Swaminathan and even one by the Bangladeshi artist Zain-ul-Abidin which is rare, it was FN Souza’s Golgotha in Goa which was the highlight of the evening as it was brought to India after nearly seven decades. 

The rarity of Golgotha in Goa by the artist demonstrates the profound influence of Catholicism on Souza's personal and artistic development. While Souza was an incredibly prolific artist across his nearly-seven-decade career, works from this formative period remain incredibly rare as less than 20 paintings by Souza from the 1940s have ever appeared at auction, marking this as a major event in the artist's market. This particular painting was a personal favourite of the artist and its first collectors did not let go of this until their last breath and cherished it for their entire lifetime.

While Souza had the eyeballs, there were other works too that drew the art fraternity for a closer look. Jogen Chowdhury’s The Grey Vase, a small but absolutely unusual piece saw a buzz around it. The beauty of the work which combines human figure with still life, a vase with flowers with human forms on either side, comes from its crosshatch design. “Chowdhury never made the human body perfect. He made a caricature. When you look at this painting, it looks like the body of a young woman, but when you look at her breast it is not that of one. So he played with less than perfect forms. He combines ink, water colour and pastels in this work,” said Uma Nair, independent curator and art critic.

A work by J Swaminathan, in Nair’s opinion too was worthy of mention.  “These three are the the most important works in term of history, composition and the artists themselves at the event,” said Nair.

Another painting that drew attention was George Keyt’s Portrait of PM, 1931, Oil on canvas as it was a portrait was from a very early period in the artist’s oeuvre, before he embraced modernism and started to paint and draw in his signature abstract and cubist manner. The subjects in Keyt’s very early works were more modest and usually clothed but this voluptuous nude signalled a transition from traditional themes to his later, less inhibited portrayals of women.

Mehta pointed out the work of Bangladeshi artist Zain-ul-Abidin as an important one among the exhibits. “It is a signature work of the father of Bangladeshi modern art and it’s very rare to get a major from him. This is coming from an American diplomatic family and has a impeccable provenance to it.”

Talking about the newer artists, Mehta pointed out that “If Indian contemporary art is to be really successful abroad, it needs a push and a strong market first in the country.”

She also pointed out that among the up and coming artists, it was names like Gauri Gill, Simran Gill and Sunitha Kumar that were worth watching out for.

The evening saw connoisseurs and people from the fraternity bond over the collected love of art.

Photo: Pankaj Kumar