Art sale: Syed Raza's Village en Fete fetches $1.8 m

KOLKATA: Christie's South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art sale in New York on March 20 saw a total of $8,574,875. Syed Haider Raza's Village en Fete, oil on canvas, painted in 1964, realized $1,859,750.

Hugo Weihe, international director of Asian Art and international specialist head, South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art, New York, said in an email statement: ""The sale of South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art was a success on all levels, with works by Modern masters, such as Syed Haider Raza, Francis Newton Souza, and Tyeb Mehta performing extremely well. In addition to the active saleroom, there was a significant amount of bidding online, with over a quarter of lots having been bought or directly underbid by a Christie's LIVE client.""

Deepanjana Klein, head of sale, South Asian Modern & Contemporary Art, New York, commented: ""In addition, sculptures and contemporary works attracted buyers who remained determined to acquire works of excellent provenance. World auction records were set for Rina Banerjee, Tayeba Begum Lipi, Imran Qureshi, Ayaz Jokhio, and Farida Batool, a testament to the growing strength of the South Asian contemporary market.""