Pundole Art Gallery, one of oldest art galleries in Mumbai, announced its opening auction for 2012. The winter auction will present Indian art focusing on miniatures from the late 17th
century to paintings of modern day Indian masters.
The auction has come at a time when the Indian market seems calm, but the gallery director Dadiba Pundole doesn’t seem to have any apprehensions regarding the same. He believes there will always be a market for quality works. “It’s a nice collection of Indian arts. We have works from several Indian masters M.F. Husain, Jehangir Sabavala, F.N. Souza, Jamini Roy, K.K. Hebbar, Akbar Padamsee as well as works that date back to the 17th century,” he says.
“Yes, it’s a little quiet out here, but people who are looking for good art will find a lot of interesting works. There’s always a good market for quality stuff,” Pundole said, adding that he expects a good turnout when the artwork is auctioned on February 1.
Like Pundole’s previous two auctions, once again, works from the estate of late Dr Jamshed J. Bhabha are a major highlight. The current collection has 11 classical Indian miniature paintings from the Kangra, Malwar and Bundi court ateliers from the late 17th century.
A major highlight of this collection is Two Ladies on a Terrace (lot 1) estimated at `3 lakh to `5 lakh. Although identification of this painting is confirmed, the gallery identifies it as possibly belonging to the famous Raskapriya (Lover’s Breviary) series that W.G. Archer identified in the book Indian Painting from the Punjab Hills, (14 works of the same series are part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collection, London).
All items in the Dr Bhabha collection are antique, non-exportable works. Some other highlights are two rare pages from a different Rask-apriya series, a hunting scene, two works from the Nayika Series, portrait of the sufi saint Shah Daula Daryai and several other works, each priced separately.
The modern Indian art section is led by Husain’s works, featuring a collection of Husain’s paintings and sketches that the artist made while travelling across the country. In Mithuna 1963, Husain is influenced by classical Indian sculpture to portray the amorous couples, which are an integral part of the ornamentation of many classical temples both within the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The posture of his female figure standing to the right of the canvas draws upon the tribhanga postures of classical sculpture. He also draws upon specific imagery absorbed from earlier paintings in his own career such Pagan Mother (1956).
Other works include Husain’s Madonna and Child (`80 lakh to `1.20 crore), a painting from his series on Mother Teressa, and 13 sketches from his Bombay Series estimated between `30 lakh to 40 lakh. Although undated, the artist has captured the Churchgate station, Gateway of India, Rajabai Tower, Mazgaon and places like the Worli Naka, in his unique imitable style. “It’s like a travelogue, featuring not only his understanding of the surroundings but also his evolution as an artist,” says Dadiba Pundole.
The early part of the 20th century is well represented in a small serene work by Nicholas Roerich (estimated at `80 lakh to `1.2 crore), depicting a snow capped Himalayan peak. “His works are an important part of Indian art, especially because of the landscapes, that he created while working at the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute, recording the beautiful scenery of the Himalayan ranges and the valleys,” Pundole explains.
Hebbar represents the early Indian modernists through his five untitled sketches on paper, and a pastoral, pointillist landscape by Bendre. It then moves on to the Progressives through a small Souza gouache from the 1970s typical of his startlingly bright, carefully structured yet distorted compositions of female nudes, but the current work marks the period when Souza was experimenting with tempura. Then there are two monochromatic figurative works by Akbar Padamsee, one of them being an oil painting, Nude, estimated to be `18 lakh to `24 lakh.
“There are also three untitled works by Jamini Roy. Although his subject matter is pretty constant, the works are completely different styles in a way,” says Pundole.
Other Indian artists like Amrita Shergill, Bhupen Khakhar, Sakti Burman, Manjit Bawa, and Ram Kumar are also included in the sale. The artworks are open for viewing online as well as at the gallery till February 1, 2.30 pm. Interested buyers can registers either at the gallery or online through the gallery website: Pundole.com.