Art Works At Osian Event

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Courtesy: UNI

Some of the rare masterpieces from the world of art and cinema, representing the diverse worlds of academic Art, will be on offer at an auction of best of Indian art, rare books and film memorabilia in the capital next week.

On offer at the auction, the second in the series of such events being held by the Osian's Connoisseurs of Art, will be academic works of art by Abalali Rehman, Jamini Roy, Amrita Shergill and Nicholas Roerich for the discerning art lover on the one hand while on the other hand it will have Hollywood handbills from 30s classics like 'Casablanca', 'Quo Vadis' as well as handbills from films in the early days of Indian cinema, photographic stills from the 60s classic 'Mughal-e-Azam' and a series of lobby cards from Dev Anand's hits like 'Baazi' and 'Hum Dono'.

The fine arts section is divided into the academic section, a section on works from the National art treasures, the Bengal school and Shantiniketan section, a section on works by Chittaprosad and the Calcutta Group, sections on Modern masters from Mumbai and Delhi and Modern Masters from Baroda and a section on select women artists.

While the opening price of Amrita Shergill's painting 'The Red Hut', catalogued in the 'National art treasures section, has been put at Rs 1.5 crore to 2 crore Nicholas Roerich's 'Himalaya Series', in the same section, has been pegged at Rs 24 lakh to 30 lakh and V S Gaitonde's 'Provenance', which figures in the section on 'Modern masters from Mumbai and Delhi', has been pegged at Rs 2.5 to 3.1 crore.

The Film memorabilia section includes Hollywood handbills from 30s classics and some memorable films starring Marlyn Monroe. The section also features a large collection of Hindi song synopsis booklets, from the leading studios of India like the Prabhat film studios, Ranjit Movietone, New Theatres, Basant Studios among others.

Further, the auction will also feature several lots of important books on Indian culture and heritage along with vintage Chromolithography from the Chore Bagan and Kansaripara studios, Tanjore paintings and mythological depictions of India.

Talking to mediapersons on the occasion of the opening preview of the art works to be on offer at the auction, Osian's chairman Neville Tuli said,''the presenting of art works like the film memorabilia, evoking interest from the general public, along with academic pieces of art and books on Indian culture and heritage is part of our effort to develop a sensibility among the public towards the creative aspect of art rather than just the entertainment aspect wherein a person drawn to the auction by, say, film memorabilia, will end up appreciating the creative aspect of the art works.'' In this context, he pointed out that the first auction in the series, held on March 18, 2002, had helped stimulate interest in the Indian film memorabilia. With this auction, to be held in Delhi's Imperial Hotel on July 20, Osian's is widening the scope of the collectors' interest in Indian art and heritage.