Indian modern artist F.N. Souza's iconic work "Man and Woman Laughing" (1957) topped the Saffronart's evening sale of Indian modern and contemporary art held here on Thursday.
Souza's work was sold for Rs.16,84,00,000, breaking all previous records of the artist.
The auction featured 75 lots of some of the most eminent Indian artists such as F.N. Souza, Tyeb Mehta, M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, Jehangir Sabavala, Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta and Jagannath Panda.
"I am thrilled with the results of my first auction with Saffronart. The sale has been acknowledged as one of the most thoughtfully-curated, and the overall result and sold through rate was a resounding confirmation," said Hugo Weihe, CEO of Saffronart.
Among the contemporaries, G Ravinder Reddy's nine-foot-tall "Devi" (1998) sold for Rs.2.7 crore. The work was previously exhibited at the Arthur M Sackler Museum in Washington DC and at other international institutions between 1998 and 2008.
The monumental head is a striking blend of tradition and kitsch, and one of the largest he has ever created.
Tyeb Mehta's "Standing Figure" (1982) was sold for Rs.11,51,25,000. The Standing Figure bears a clarity of design and composition that is a departure from Mehta's falling figures and trussed bulls.
