Art work dedicated to Dravid fetches Rs 57.6 lakh

NEW DELHI: An oil and acrylic work on canvas by contemporary artist Atul Dodiya dedicated to former Team India captain Rahul Dravid fetched Rs 57.6 lakh at an auction here that saw a total sale of Rs 3.38 crore.

Osian's auction of 'Indian Modern and Contemporary Art' comprised 50 select works estimated at Rs 8.5-10.5 crore of which 25 were sold.

Termed 'The Wall', Dodiya's work depicted poise, glamour, profound conviction and caricature.

Bikash Bhattacharjee's oil on canvas 'Still Life' went under the hammer for Rs 48 lakh while Meera Mukherjee's brass work 'Figure' sold for Rs 34.8 lakh and F N Souza's oil work on Masonite board 'Lingam & Yoni' for Rs 31.2 lakh.

Dodiya dedicated 'The Wall' to Dravid as a salute to the cricketer's strength.

The painting is done in three parts. Thirteen members of the Indian team that took part in the 2007 World Cup have their autographs on each brick of the painting's wall.

In the immediate proximity is actor Aamir Khan along with a huge audience at the back deeply engrossed watching a cricket match that depicts the film "Lagaan" while the third part is a gloomy hilly landscape with a young boy sitting atop this wall.

The holes in the 'The Wall' open up a poetic drama with the movement of rats adding to wit and humour.

According to Osian's founder-chairman Neville Tuli, the auction was a small but select focus on Indian modern masters and high quality paintings and sculpture.

"The top end of the Indian modern and contemporary art market was the last to feel the meltdown and will be the first to experience the revival," he said.
Another highlight of the auction was K K Hebbar's portrait of Indira Gandhi fetching Rs 19.2 lakh.

The auction's repertoire also included iconic works by modern masters Tyeb Mehta, S H Raza, V S Gaitonde, Ramkumar, Jamini Roy, K H Ara and Ganesh Pyne and by contemporary young artists such as Shobha Broota, Amitava Das, Riyas Komu and Gogi Saroj Pal.