Coming up: an auction with a broad base

The Saffronart online summer auction will take place on May 10-12. There are 145 lots up for sale by 64 artists. So, being an online auction, it has the quality as a gallery show as well as of an auction. So, the element of the broad-based selection is a welcome trend. On the other hand, the element of projecting star artists to boost the prices is not lacking either.

From the perspective of this auction, FN Souza is likely to be a clear draw. There are nine works of his up for sale. Of these, four are major ones. There is ?The Remark,? an oil on canvas of his couples series (lot 38) that is expected to fetch at most Rs 32.25 lakh ($75000). One can expect it to go above the top. There is an oil on canvas of a head (lot 41) expected to fetch Rs 25.80 lakh ($60,000) at most, which is also likely to sell above this price. Then there is an oil on board landscape (lot 35) expected to fetch Rs 30.10 lakh ($70000) at most, which is likely to sell for more than that. A charcoal on linen (lot 35), expected to fetch Rs 9 lakh ($20,930), is also likely to go above that, as there is considerable demand for drawings. Souza?s work is the piece de resistance of this auction and justly so.

The next on the list is MF Husain. There are eight works of his up for sale. Of these, a mother Teresa series acrylic on canvas (lot 7) is expected to fetch a maximum of Rs 22 lakh ($51,170): an attractive oil on canvas of human figures and a tiger. (lot 8) is expected to go for Rs 34.4 lakh ($80,000) at most; a 1960?s nude, an oil on canvas (lot 6) is pegged at Rs 16 lakh ($37,210) ; a musician, an acrylic on canvas (lot 5) at Rs 22 lakh ($51,170) and a head of the mid-1960s (lot 11) at Rs 32 lakh or ($74,420). Knowing that Husain is among the best buys today internationally, one can expect fairly brisk bidding for his work, so a number ought to sell above the ceiling set for them.

SH Raza follows Husain with seven works up for sale. There is an abstract oil on canvas of 1960 (lot 21) which ought to go well above its ceiling price of Rs 9.46 lakh ($22,000) an acrylic on canvas (lot 20) expected to fetch Rs 32.25 lakh at most and a dyptich, also acrylic on canvas, that is pegged at Rs 23.65 lakh ($55,000). I would expect brisk bidding for these works as Raza?s sales in India are generally better than those abroad.

Beyond these three, I would expect brisk bidding for Tyeb Mehta?s Kali (lot 49) that is pegged at a ceiling price of Rs 47.30 lakh ($1,10,000): Akbar Padamsee?s oil on canvas head (lot 55) pegged at Rs 28 lakh ($65,120) and Nude2 (lot 56) at Rs 18 lakh ($41,860): Ram Kumar?s untitled oil on canvas (lot 32) at Rs 20 lakh ($46,520) and Manu Parekh?s portrait of Souza (lot 82) at Rs 2.25 lakh. His Banaras landscape (lot 83) ought also to do well at a ceiling price of Rs 8.50 lakh for this oil on canvas. Another work that ought to sell well is Jehangir Sabavala?s ?Leaves and Violin,? (lot 25) priced at a high of Rs 12 lakh ($27,910).

Among younger artists, there are two works of Jogen Choudhury, Face of a Young Man (lot 76) at a high of Rs 4.50 lakh ($10,470) and Man with Raised Hand (lot 77) at the same price, as well as a nude figure (lot 75) at a high of Rs 1.75 lakh ($4,070) that ought to bid for well.

K Laxma Goud?s mixed media on paper (lot 88) at Rs 4.25 lakh ($9,980) is also likely to be bid for well. Arpana Caur?s untitled work (lot 98) ought also to be bid well at a high of Rs 2.75 lakh ($6,400), while Chittrovanu Mazumdar?s untitled acrylic on canvas with a female face and writing at Rs 9 lakh ($2,930) ought also to find a buyer above that benchmark. The same goes for Subodh Gupta?s oil on canvas ?Round the Corner? (lot 125) priced at a high of Rs 5 lakh ($11,630) and Paresh Maity?s oil on canvas of a woman and a lantern (lot 126) at high of Rs 4 lakh ($9,310).

For those who go for our contemporary Kerala-style art, Jitish Kalat?s acrylic on canvas Acid Drop (lot 144) at Rs 6.02 lakh ($14,000); Justin Ponmany?s ?Iron works without Electricity,? an acrylic and hologram on canvas (lot 145) for Rs 1.80 lakh ($4,190); GR Iranna?s untitled acrylic on tarpaulin (lot 136) at Rs 2.50 lakh ($5,820); Bose Krishnamachari?s oil on canvas, No One?s Honour (lot 120) at Rs 4.50 lakh ($10,470), Nataraj Sharma?s gouache on paper board (lot113) for Rs 2.80 lakh ($6,520) and Baiju Parthan?s ?Engineered Fruit? (lot 108) at Rs 1.10 lakh ($2,560) are recommended.

The auction blends highlights and a broad base to choose from very well. As such, it is likely to be a successful one. I have only concentrated on the significant elements of the structure of this auction in this write-up. Buyers would be advised to go through the website carefully as there are many works worth buying that are listed in it.