Tyeb Mehta's painting fetches Rs 11 crore at Sotheby's auction

Modernist painter Tyeb Mehta's work Blue Painting sold for over Rs 11 crore (1.1 million pounds) at Sotheby's London auction, which grossed Rs 46.4 crore (4.6 million pounds), the highest total of the season for any sale in this category.

The 1982 painting, a key transitional work by the towering Indian modernist, was bought by an anonymous bidder for nearly double its low estimate at the October 7 sale of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, auctioneers said.

Another important work by Akbar Padamsee, a member of Bombay Progressive Artists Group also smashed its pre-sale estimate. Padamsee's iconic 1952 painting "Prophet I" fetched more than three-times the low estimate when it sold for (530,500 pounds) RS 5.2 crore.

Yamini Mehta, Senior Director, International Head of Indian and South Asian Art called the sale a "superlative result."

"We're delighted that the sale achieved the highest result this season for any auction in this category. With a sale totalling over $7.5 million, and the average value of the lots sold at over $100,000, it was a superlative result," Mehta said.

Raza's 1956 oil on board titled "Church At Meulan" went for approx Rs 2.03 crore (206,500 pounds) much more than its pre-auction estimate.

The sale also set a new world record for Delhi-based artist Mrinalini Mukherjee whose hemp work titled "Sri" (Deity), fetched (98,500 pounds) Rs 9,726,120, a world record for any auction by the artist.

"The fresh to the market works from great private collections such as the Glenbarra Art Museum, the Collection of William and Mildred Archer, as well as numerous private collections from Europe, America and Brazil, really made a huge impact on the success of sale," Mehta said.

The Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale was part of the inaugural Indian and Islamic Week, alongside the Art of Imperial India and Arts of the Islamic World sales.