Manjit Bawa, Husain notch up top sales at Art Bull auction

New Delhi: A series of serigraph and a book of postcards created by late modernist painter M F Husain along with works by Manjit Bawa and Sunil Das have notched up attractive sales at a recent auction by relatively new auction house Art Bull. Powerful artworks by the `icecream painter` Bawa and Das went under the hammer fetching Rs 9 million and Rs 2.15 million respectively when they went under the hammer at the auction titled "The Spring" here on April 20. The book of postcards dated 1967 were sourced from the family and friends of M F Husain and has been in their collection for more than three decades. Overall the auction that was not based on a particular theme celebrated the pre-modern and modern masters. A set of works focused on artists during the nationalist period of in the country. A strong representation of the Bombay Progressives included Francis Newton Souza and M F Husain made the section of the auction historically cohesive by keeping continuity of time. Rare works of Souza and Husain went under the hammer. Renowned artist Sanjay Bhattacharya`s work was sold for Rs 9 lakhs. The light and shades used in the painting are usual. However, when it passes through the perspective and skill of Sanjay Bhattacharya, they assume a different nature. "All these works were meticulously collected, documented and detailed for the convenience of the effective and competitive bidders," says Siddhartha Tagore, one of the directors of Bid Art Bull Pvt. Ltd and the director of the Art Konsult Gallery. A pivotal painting by Hemen Mazumdar "Village Belle" was sold for 1 million. The back drop is painted in the revivalist Indian style. Thematically it shows the beauty and pristine nature of the Indian villages. One of popular artist Jamini Roy`s work was sold for Rs 15.7 million respectively. He treats it like a mosaic mural or a stain glass painting in order to give a religious feel about it. An untitled work depicting a village dancer beating on his drum in rhythmic moves done on tempera on paper by Nandalal Bose was sold for Rs one million. Bose always wanted to depict the life and times of rural folk during the third decade of twentieth century. B Vithal`s work was sold for 3 million. He shows the artist`s grip on form and how the human body could be articulated in a vertical manner without losing the horizontal volume of it. PTI