TYEB'S WOMAN ON RICKSHAW SETS NEW RECORD
The 22ndedition of the annual London South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction realized the highest result for any sale in this category to date in 2017. A total of £5,901,625 /$7,660,310 was achieved with exceptionally high sell through rates of 91% by lot and 95% by value, again the highest of any auction conducted in the category this year.
Tyeb Metha's(1925-2009) Untitled (Woman on Rickshaw) painted in 1994 sold for£2,741,000 /$3,557,818, setting not only a new world auction record for the artist, but also becoming the most expensive work of South Asian Art sold globally this year.
Christie's welcomed clients from over 20 countries to its saleroom in London in person, over the telephone and via the internet. Internet bidding was very active throughout the one and a half hour long auction. 47% of all lots sold saw online bidding, either bought or directly underbid by collectors online with a total of 14 lots successfully sold to internet bidders. Furthermore, over 100 clients followed the auction online.
The auction celebrated 70 years of Indian Independence and the Progressive Artists' Group (PAG), which was founded in 1947. The founding members included the masters Francis Newton Souza, Maqbool Fida Husain, Syed Haider Raza, Sadanand Bakre, Krishnaji Howlaji Ara and Hari Ambadas Gade.
