Sotheby’s put out a statement about last night’s sale of Indian Modern art collected by the wife of former Christie’s CEO Christopher Davidge:
The Amaya Collection, the first international Evening Sale of Indian Art and the first single-owner sale in this category to be held at Sotheby’s in more than a decade, brought a strong total of $6,694,875, just shy of its pre-sale high estimate of $7 million last night. The 43 works on offer were assembled by esteemed collector and author Amrita Jhaveri, and were highlighted by Untitled from Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, one of India’s most important modern abstract painters, which sold for $965,000, above a high estimate of $800,000. Strong prices were achieved for Sayed Haider Raza’s Rajasthan I from 1983, which brought $809,000, while multiple bidders drove Francis Newton Souza’s The Crucifixion to achieve $557,000 (est. $200/300,000). Additional highlights included Manjit Bawa’s The Black Devi, which sold for $389,000, and Bhupen Khakhar’s 1988 Satsang, which fetched $341,000 – both above their pre-sale high estimates.
