AstaGuru’s ‘Modern Odyssey’ auction to present rare collections of iconic Indian artists

From Rabindranath Tagore to Homi Jehangir Bhabha, and Manjit Bawa to C Raja Raja Varma, AstaGuru Auction House is all set to offer an assortment of artworks by Indian icons and modern artists in its coming online auction.

The event to be held on December 11 and 12 will feature over 200 works by Indian masters including Bikash Bhattacharjee, FN Souza, Ganesh Pyne, Jamini Roy, Jogen Chowdhury, MF Hussain, Nandalal Bose and SH Raza.

The top draw for the auction would be Bawa's oil on canvas work executed in 1992, which is estimated to fetch Rs 6-8 crore. The untitled oil on canvas work features a central figure reminiscing Krishna against a striking red backdrop.


Three artworks by FN Souza will be on offer. Among these, lot no 63 is a vibrant rendition of Souza’s head imagery, executed with oil on board in 1968, estimated to be sold at Rs 4-6 crore.

Raja Varma's portrait of Diwan Bandi Balaiah Naidu, which is a registered antique with the Indian government, is estimated at Rs 1.15-1.2 crore.

"From the vibrant symbolism in Manjit Bawa's masterpiece to the historical narrative captured in Raja Raja Varma's painting, the auction promises a journey through the soul of Indian art," said Sunny Chandiramani, vice-president at AstaGuru.

An untitled painting by Homi Bhabha is another important feature of the auction. This year, his six other works were sold across platforms for a cumulative Rs 2.2 crore, as there is a growing appreciation among art connoisseurs for the artistic contributions of Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear programme.

Works by historic Bengal school visionaries Rabindranath Tagore and Nandalal Bose will also be showcased.

A letter written by the Nobel winner bard with his artistic impression at the end of the matter is expected to fetch Rs 3-4 lakh. The auction house had earlier auctioned three letters written by Tagore.

Bose's two sets of untitled works are expected to get Rs 9-14 lakh.

Two large-scale works by Bikash Bhattacharjee will be part of the event. One of these, lot no 59, is a work from his seminal ‘Doll’ series. The painting executed in 1971 is oil on canvas and is estimated to be sold at Rs 60,000-80,000. The body of work visually captures the haunting essence of civil unrest, violence, and loss stemming from the conflict between the police and Naxal movement supporters in Bengal.