Asia week sales courtesy Christie’s and Sotheby’s

Leading contemporary Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza’s most significant artwork, ‘Village with Church’, once proudly owned by John D. Rockefeller III, is set to be auctioned at Sotheby`s, New York. It’s estimated at $2 million, according to the auction house.

One of the most significant paintings by the veteran artist ever to appear in the market is the major highlight of Sotheby’s March 2012 Asia Week sales. John D. Rockefeller III had purchased the painting from the landmark 1958-59 show, entitled ‘Trends in Contemporary Painting In India’ at the Graham Gallery, New York. It remained in his collection until 1994. It symbolizes the apex of SH Raza’s early period.

Director of Sotheby`s in India, Maithili Parekh, was quoted as saying: “Rockefeller and his wife befriended Raza in the early 1960s while he was at Berkeley as a visiting professor at the University of California, following which he was invited to NYC as a recipient of the Rockefeller Fellowship."

According to Parekh, John and his wife Blanchette were among the earliest champions of Modern Indian painting in US. Their support and patronage were key to introducing the artworks of the Progressive Artist`s Group (PAG) in the US.

Thomas Keehn, the then Rockfeller Foundation representative, who lived in India and struck a close rapport with many artists organized ‘8 Painters’, a show of the PAG group works in New Delhi in 1956. It also featured ‘Village With Church’. This exhibit later expanded to a major show 'Trends In Contemporary Painting In India', the first of its kind held in the US.

Among other highlights at semi-annual Asia week sales are Bronze Buddhas, hanging scrolls and a trove of captivating carved rhinoceros horns featured on the TV show ‘Antiques Roadshow’. Also on offer are ceramics, ancient calligraphy and furniture pieces, estimated at over $100 million by both Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Look out for South Indian Chola bronze group of Somaskanda and selections of Himalayan bronze sculptures as well as Indian miniature paintings drawn from private collections.

Asian art, now a key driver in the global art market, has witnessed strong activity in the recent times, and demand for it is further growing, among Chinese collectors in particular, even outpacing the once-dominant Impressionist & modern category. Christie's Asia sales a year.