A 1961 painting by V S Gaitonde fetched for a whopping $5.5 million or Rs 39.98 crore at the Saffronart Spring Live Auction, marking a new record for Indian art sold at a global auction, according to The Indian Express.
The artist broke his own record set by a 1974 untitled oil-on-canvas that was sold for Rs 36.8 crores.
The recent sale of Gaitonde's art is said to have brought cheer to the art industry battered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and Co-Founder of Saffronart, told the publication that the sale had set a strong and optimistic precedent for the coming year.
The artwork was initially part of a collection belonging to Aditi Mangaldas and Aditya Mangaldas, the children of industrialist Harshavadan Mangaldas. Mangaldas and his wife Devyani had acquired it decades ago on a visit to Gaitonde's studio.
"The painting was a silent but extremely beautiful and powerful spectator of all these happenings in our family, the ups and downs in our lives.," said Aditi, a Kathak dancer, and choreographer.