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The record sales of Rs 55 crore at a Saffronart online
auction which concluded on Thursday night after three
days of frantic bidding from around the world has put
the Indian painters in a different perspective.
While, Tyeb Mehta's Mahishasura, sold recently for
Rs 6.9 crore clearly established him as the most expensive,
this auction has placed Francis Newton Souza to the
second position with the price of Rs 6.5 crore for his
massive (6'x4') painting entitled Lovers. This painting
was purchased by an NRI from the Far East.
In all eleven paintings were sold for over a crore
each. They included four Souzas, two Padamsees and two
Razas, a Tyeb Mehta, a Husain and a Ram Kumar. Lovers
was painted in 1955, when he was at his peak as an artist.
It was part of a famous private collection in the US.
Interestingly, Husain known for his gimmics, high profile
and marketing has been shown his place for the second
time. When Tyeb's Mahishasura was sold for an amount
that far exceeded Husain's it started a cold war between
the two renowned painters. How Husain will react to
the news of Souza becoming the second highest is difficult
to predict but it is clear that this has been a bad
year for Husain. The man who clinched a highly publicised
deal of Rs 100 crores for 100 Husains got involved in
a case of fraud and forgery and was arrested. The deal
went kaput.
"Market has a way of deciding the prices and this
is not always affected by gimmics and marketing strategies,"
says an art dealer who doesn't want to be dragged in
the controversy. He however adds, "I think that
time has come for those who have worked silently, keeping
low profile to reap the harvest of rising prices in
the art market."
Souza's domain has been church and, in the past, other
Souzas too have been sold at unusually high prices.
Souza's Crucifixion, for instance was sold for Rs 2.7
crore. Souza died in 2002 but his work keeps him in
news as the prices go on rising without any stunts,
marketing strategy and gimmics.
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