Works by Francis Newton Souza modern Indian art's 'enfant terrible' sourced from the collection of Keren Souza Kohn are being auctioned by Saffronart in its first ever 'live' auction here today.
The auction 'Francis Newton Souza: Works from the Collection of Keren Souza Kohn, would be held simultaneously at the Four Seasons Hotel here as well as on online, the auctioneers say.
The sale is part of the first annual Art Week for which th auction house had hosted previews in Delhi and Mumbai.
The auction also marks the first time that the artist's family's collection is being made available to collectors in India.
The 100 lots offered in the sale include oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and chemical alterations estimated to fetch between Rs 2.38 crore to Rs 3.35 crore.
"This auction caters to the palettes of established art collectors as well as those just setting out on their collecting journeys and looking to acquire a work by one of India's most well known modern artists without breaking the bank," said Saffronart.
Born in 1924 in Saligao, a small town in Goa, Souza studied at J J School of Art in Mumbai from where he was suspended for participating in the Quit India Movement.
Along with M F, Husain, S H Raza, K H Ara and others , Souza laid the foundation of the Progressive Artist's Movement in 1947.
The artist left India for London in 1949 and later moved to New York in 1967 and settled there till he died in March 2002. His works are in the collections of the Tate Gallery, London and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.
In 2008, his painting "Birth" (1955) set a world auction record for the priciest Indian painting sold till then garnering Rs USD 2.5 million at an auction.
Included in the Saffronart sale is a watercolour by Souza painted when he was just 20 years old, of the Marmagoa harbour in Goa. It has been estimated to fetch a sum between Rs 5,00,000 to Rs 7,00,000.
A 1968 oil acrylic and spray paint on masonite in figurative style titled "The Man from After" has an estimate prize of Rs 25 lakh - Rs 35 lakh, the highest in the auction.
His 1956 ink on paper "Igor Stravinsky" (estimated between Rs 70,000 to Rs 90,000) is a portrait of the revolutionary composer and pianist.
"It seems to be one of the exceptional works that was borne of the artist's admiration rather than his unsympathetic disgust," the auctioneers say.
Other highlights include an oil on canvas 1967 painting titled "Head (Weeping Woman)" representing Souza's interpretation of Pablo Picasso's well known series of works from 1937 featuring the weeping woman from his epic mural Guernica, painted earlier that year.
