Raza: Rage in Paris

New Delhi, May 3: Call it coincidence if you will. This is possibly the first time that an Indian artist has been included in two sales of European art.

On April 26, some 16 paintings by Syed Haider Raza (b.1922) came under the hammer at two auction houses in Paris. Six of these works were part of Christie’s Paris sale of European art.

Called Art D’Apres Guerre et Contemporain (post-war and contemporary art), the sale included several early Razas which claimed attention with many of the modern greats, such as Calder and Tinguely to name just two. The other ten came under the hammer at a small auction house of F. Tajan in Paris.

The latter also had one lot of Akbar Padamsee’s still lifes done in the mid-fifties, besides the works of European artists. At the same time, another Raza came under the hammer at an online auction at Toronto conducted by Heffel.Com.

At the Christie’s sale, one of Raza’s untitled works reached a record price for a work on paper. It is a townscape done in 1952, painted in a flat style of geometric forms using mixed media including gouache. The painting sold for 170,000 euros plus 20 per cent auctioneer’s fees ? which makes it close to Rs 1.15 crore.

At the Tajan auction, the highest price was registered by a longish oil done in 1964 in a somewhat abstract expressionist style called Jardin (Garden). The painting went for close to 148,000 euros or nearly Rs 84 lakh. The upward trajectory marked the sale prices of most Raza paintings at the two auctions.

Already it is being said in art circles that Raza is among the ten highest-priced artists in Europe.

“The recognition is long overdue. Raza has lived in Europe for nearly half a century and is one of the most expensive artists in the Continent,” poet and Raza expert Ashok Vajpeyi said.

“The new element in this emerging trend is the acknowledgement of Indian art as part of international art and the recognition of a master of Indian art as a world master.”

Vajpeyi predicted more such acknowledgements. Arun Vadehra of Vadehra Art Gallery confirmed the trend. He said: “Besides Raza, there is a great interest in European art market in Souza and Padamsee. In five years’ time, you will see much more Indian art on the global scene.”