Thursday, February 10 2005 17:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Marking a milestone in the Indian art auction scene, V S Gaitonde's untitled abstract work fetched a whopping Rs 92 lakh, making it the first Indian contemporary painting sold for that price in India, at a public auction.

The painting was bought by an NRI-settled in Dubai, (whose identity was not disclosed), through a telephone bid at the auction conducted by Osians, India's leading auction house and premier archive, in Mumbai late last night (Feb 9, 2005).

A total of 99 pieces of art, out of 161 put up for auction, were sold at the event, fetching a total amount of Rs 6.18 crore, Osians sources said.

The auction also saw world-renowned master Pablo Picasso's work 'The Face' fetching Rs 7 lakh under the hammer, marking a new involvement of western art in the Indian market.

The top bids of the day included, E N Souza's 'Cityscape' sold at Rs 25.30 lakh. Rameshwar Broota's work titled 'Queue' attracted a price of Rs 27.60 lakh while Ambadas's untitled work fetched Rs 18.40 lakh. Also included in the top bids of the day was also N S Bendre's Jaisalmer series sold for Rs 18.40 lakh.

M F Husain's work 'Veena Player' attracted a bid of Rs 16 lakh, however, his drawing on the nursery series failed to attract any buyer at the opening bid of Rs 3.60 lakh.

Artists Biren De, Jamini Roy, M V Durandhar, Prokash Karmakar were also among those whose works fetched high bids at the prestigious auction, attended among others by prominent artist Satish Gujral.