Released on = September 21, 2006, 1:15 pm

Press Release Author = TamarindArt

Industry = Entertainment

Press Release Summary = Sotheby's fall Indian art auction of miniatures and modern
paintings kicked off the season in a crisp, breezy style, matching the early autumn
weather outside. In all, 169 lots went on the block, most reaching or surpassing
pre-sale estimates. The highlight of this day was Francis Newton Souza's painting
Man with Monstrance, which went down to the hammer for $1,360,000.

Press Release Body = Sotheby's Auction Results - Indian Art Market Stays Strong

By TamarindArt Staff Writer

New York, New York, September 19, 2006

Sotheby's fall Indian art auction of miniatures and modern paintings kicked off the
season in a crisp, breezy style, matching the early autumn weather outside. In all,
169 lots went on the block, most reaching or surpassing pre-sale estimates. The
highlight of this day was Francis Newton Souza's painting Man with Monstrance, which
went down to the hammer for $1,360,000.

The auction began in high-flying fashion with twenty lots of Indian miniature
paintings. This genre-becoming more and more popular with collectors-set the
vigorous tone early. All greatly exceeded their estimates; huge-for miniatures-was
a group of twenty illustrations from the Devi series, which commanded $262,400,
setting the heady tone for the individual modern artworks that followed.

Six paintings by Jamini Roy sparked the continued trend of increased prices for
Indian art-four passed the estimate, two went within the pre-sale range. S. H. Raza
also remains a hot collectible. After fast and furious action, the master artist's
work entitled Trees settled in at $228,000; his Red Sun and Black Clouds for
$307,200; La Nuit for $240,000. An untitled work from Ram Kumar went for $452,800;
another for $284,800.

These shattering prices paled to the Souza work (Man with Monstrance) that followed.
The $1.36 million figure-double the pre-auction estimate for that painting-had the
crowd spellbound, filling Sotheby's showroom with an appreciative round of applause
after the bidding stopped. An untitled Mehta work also topped a
million-$1,248,000-as was expected, and certainly not the first time for the noted
artist. Not far behind, and also reaching this quintessential benchmark at this
auction was an untitled Gaitonde, which sold for $1,108,000. Other Souzas' sold in
the range of $150,000-$190,000.

Also keeping with the extraordinary numbers were works by the stalwart M. F. Husain.
Six fell in the range of $156,000 - $486,400, with an average final price falling
at $262,000. Other highlights were two Jagdish Swaminathans' that sold for $284,800
and $352,000 respectively; art by Chowdhury, Padamsee, and Pyne continue to garner
interest. All in all, most pieces exceeded or fell into the pre-sale expected
range, keeping Indian art in the forefront for art collectors and proving the genre
is still hot.

Observers were pleased with the results. Sharan Apparao of Apparao Galleries in
Madras thought "that the prices were good" and saw signals that Indian art is
remaining popular with worldwide collectors and art lovers, as indicative of the
past few years. Srinivas K. Reddy, marketing professor at the University of
Georgia, opinionated that final selling prices may be becoming more in line with
pre-sale estimates and saw early stages of a maturing Indian art market. Dinesh
Vazirani of SaffronArt agrees, saying that now prices are such that there seems to
be consolidation and stability across the board.

Yet, for all the good news there was a few lots that remained unsold, including a
Ganesh Haloi that did not make the cut above the reserve, was passed and remained
unsold. (At an online auction earlier this month at Apparao Galleries, only one of
three of Haloi's works sold).

Sotheby's final take of $14,803,600 proved the experts correct in that their remains
an insatiable appetite for both Indian miniatures and artworks from the grand
masters of India. Results of this auction may be predictive of others than are
occurring, (including at Christie's on September 20th ) as the demand for Indian art
remains unabated.




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