The art frat went into a frenzy, when an undisclosed seller auctioned artworks from the Gandhi family's collection

Earlier this month, Osian’s hosted the Indian antiques, modern and contemporary fine arts and books auction in Mumbai. Collectors who received the catalogue ahead of the auction discovered that it mentioned that some of the works going under the hammer once belonged to former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The auction catalogue specified as provenance “formerly from the family collection of late Smt. Indira Gandhi”, for some works by masters like MF Husain and KS Kulkarni. Interest was piqued as one wondered who was putting up these works for sale. However, when contacted, the auction house declined to comment .

It must be pointed out that it is not mandatory for auction houses to reveal details of the sellers.


Neville Tuli’s Osian’s put up the paintings for auction. (Image: BCCL)

All five paintings sold at the auction, and fetched prices mostly in line with the estimates.

The estimate for two paintings by Kulkarni ranged between Rs 6 - 9 lakh and Rs 8-12 lakh each. The final hammer price was in line with the estimates. While one fetched Rs 9.6 lakh, the other went for Rs 8.4 lakh.

The works by Husain carried higher estimates. Out of the three works being auctioned, two carried an estimate of Rs 50-75 lakh. Eventually, one sold for Rs 60 lakh and another for Rs 96 lakh. The third work had an estimate price of Rs 16-24 lakh and was sold for Rs 28.80 lakh.