Continued confidence in the Indian market and the ever-growing appetite for contemporary art both in India and elsewhere were in evidence when lively bidding between art collectors and trade buyers helped boost sales of South Asian art at Sotheby's, London two weeks ago.
Twelve of Tagore's paintings, portraits and landscapes were sold for £1.6 million (Rs. 11.13 crores). First time to appear at an auction, these Tagore pieces were part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a charitable organization based in South Devon in the UK. Tagore's Untitled (Portrait of a Woman) a watercolor and colored ink on paper, signed 'Rabindra' and dated '38' in Bengali, that measures 49.5 x 40 cm. (19-1/2 x 15-3/4) created a record for the late artist and sold at seven times the high estimate for £313,250 (Rs. 21.54 crores). The previous auction record for a work by Tagore for his Death Scene was £144,500 at Sotheby's in May 2008.
Most Indians know Rabindranath Tagore as a poet, philosopher and songwriter and perhaps as the first Indian Nobel Prize winner for literature (1913). But, did you know that Tagore took to creating art when he was 70?
At the auction, yet another Indian artist Somnath Hore (1921-2006) also created a record with his The Khajani Player, 1995 that was bought by an Indian collector for £157,250 (10.81 crores). The bronze sculpture that measures 125 x 96 cm (49-1/4 x 37-3/4 ) graphically details the strains a musician has to endure. But the top seller was an acrylic on canvas, painted in 1979-81 - Rajasthan - by Syed Haider Raza (b. 1922) that sold at £517,250 (Rs. 35.57 crores). About 48 inches square Raza's vibrant splash of orange and pink reminds one of Jaipur, the pink city.
Englishman Leonard Elmhirst was a close friend of Tagore's in the United States and after graduating from Cornell University in 1921, traveled to India to become Tagore's secretary. He and his wife Dorothy purchased an estate in Dartington to promote Tagore's interest in art, education and social reconstruction, subjects very close to Leonard's heart as well.
Holly Brackenbury, Deputy Director of Indian Art at Sotheby's, said, proceeds from these sales will be part of an investment for developing art and sustainability initiatives. The trust will celebrate Tagore's 150th birth anniversary between May 1 and 7 next year.
(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Korea and India.)
Pictures courtesy: Sotheby's
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