BENGALURU : If you’ve wanted to own a piece created by artist MF Husain, here’s a chance. An upcoming auction titled ‘Husain’ will feature 36 works across media, including art, tapestry and jewellery, totally estimated worth `40 crore. The event will see Husain’s composition, ‘Voices’, estimated to be between Rs 17 - 20 crore, make its auction debut. The solo artist auction, curated by AstaGuru, a platform conducting online auctions for Indian, contemporary and modern art, will be held on August 29 and 30.
It will also include a creation by Husain that won him the International Biennale Award at the Tokyo Biennale in 1959, and further led to him receiving a Rockefeller Scholarship later that year to study in New York, where he was exposed to works of Abstract Expressionists. Also open to bids will be ‘Mother Teresa’, his series created in 1980, which is said to have a personal touch, because he yearned to fill the void of losing his mother in childhood.
“MF Husain is the most globally recognised modern master of our time and his works have always been one of the top draws at modern Indian art auctions. We hope to set a new precedent for Husain as well as the category of modern Indian art,” says Rakshanda Hussain, specialist at AstaGuru.
She adds that the art works have been carefully selected, and many of them are milestones not just for the artist but also for Indian modernism. “The wide range of works represent Husain’s individualistic style and showcase the diverse subject matter of his expansive body of work. The auction is led by ‘Voices’, the third most important composition created by him and a break-through work, which gained him immense international recognition,” she says, adding that the selection also includes a rare selection of jewellery and tapestry designed and co-created by Husain, which have never been offered at an auction before. His sought-after toys will also be part of the auction.
The event will also feature a preliminary sketch created by Husain of his famous painting titled ‘Between The Spider and The Lamp’, which is considered to be Modern Indian Art’s most iconic work. It is estimated to be valued between `75 and 85 lakh. Also up for bidding is ‘That Obscure Object of Desire’ (`1.4-1.7 crore), a series that Husain created after he was inspired by a 1977 film directed by filmmaker Luis Buñuel. (Catalogue can be viewed on astaguru.com, where auction will take place on Aug. 29 and 30)