Dali in Delhi: India prepares for first-ever big auction of Western art

 Close on the heels of the international presence at the India Art Fair, is an international auction, by India's biggest online art portal, Saffronart.com.
Announcing the first-ever big auction of Western art in India, director Dinesh Vazirani said, 'The auction features 73 works by 35 eminent Western artists with a total estimate of $3.3 million (Rs14.8 crore) to 4.2 million (Rs19.8 crore).
Leading the sale is Vincent van Gogh's 1885 masterpiece, L'allée aux deux promeneurs (Lane with two figures), estimated at Rs4 crore.'

Sale: The first ever big auction of Western art will take place in India and feature this 1885 Vincent van Gogh L'allee aux deux promeneurs

The auction features prominent works by Impressionist Camille Pissarro, Cubists Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall, Surrealist Salvador Dali and Fauvist Henri Matisse, besides works by Pop artist Andy Warhol, among others.
It will also feature a wide selection of limited edition, signed prints and an attractive group of ceramics by Pablo Picasso.
Van Gogh's painting features a dark palette with the iconic tall poplar trees and the retreating figures of two people walking into the horizon.
The work actually pre-dates van Gogh's meeting with the other Impressionists, after which his palette exploded with bright colours and he began layering thick wedges of paint on to the canvas.

Classic: Pablo Picasso's le transformateur will also feature in the auction

'There has been an evolving interest by Indian collectors in Western art in the last four to five years.
'More importantly, these are names that many Indian's are familiar with. It is an early trend and we do feel optimistic,' says Nish Bhutani COO, Saffronart.
Besides the iconic van Gogh, the other works up for grabs are a beautiful landscape by Pissarro, an unusual landscape by Picasso that pre-dates his cubist phase and colourful lithograph by Joan Miro.

Legends: The works of Pablo Picasso, left, and Vincent van Gogh, right, will feature in the auction

'The art market has done well at a time when equity was a bit wobbly. This is because the art market has rebounded and buyers from Russia and China are emerging as strong contenders for Western Art.
In the next few years we will see Indians become significant collectors,' says Nish Bhutani, revelling that there have been some pre-bookings on some of the pieces.
The works are on show at Delhi's Oberoi Hotel and the auction takes place on February 15 and 16.