New Delhi: The work of MF Husain stood vindicated even after his death as one of his paintings, seized from the home of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, was sold for Rs 13.44 crores at an auction recently. The painting titled “Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12 (1972)” became Husain’s highest-selling work ever.
The auction was organised by Saffronart on Thursday, March 5, in order to help the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recover dues that Modi owes to various banks. Modi’s other assets were also put up for auction at the same event and the ED recovered over Rs 53.45 crores by the end of the day.
In this painting, Husain has artistically depicted a battle between two rivers that share the same point of origin. In 2008, the same illustration had fetched $1.8 million USD in New York.
Commenting on the high price of the painting, Art Advisor Arvind Vijaymohan said, “This was an extremely important picture within Husain’s practice, one that was originally from the legendary Herwitz collection.”
The live auction also featured several of Modi’s assets including designer Chanel and Hermes handbags and stylish wristwatches. In the watch category, a Girard-Perregaux ‘Opera One” triple bridge tourbillon wristwatch was auctioned off for a whopping Rs 95.20 lakhs.
