26th Nov, 2025 19:00
Modern & Contemporary Art - Evening Sale
38
Maqbool Fida Husain (India 1915-2011)
Figures
watercolour on paper
Artwork date: 1981
Signature details: signed and dated bottom left; inscribed with the artist's name and the title on a Kala Yatra Taj Hotel label on the reverse
Exchange Rates*: USD 11 459,35 - 17 189,02
GBP 8 749,63 - 13 124,45
EURO 9 953,12 - 14 929,68
Sold for R401,400
Estimated at R200,000 - R300,000
Condition Report
The overall condition is good.
Minor oxidisation consistant with age.
Minor surface dirt.
Please note, we are not qualified conservators and these reports give our opinion as to the general condition of the works. We advise that bidders view the lots in person to satisfy themselves with the condition of prospective purchases.
watercolour on paper
Artwork date: 1981
Signature details: signed and dated bottom left; inscribed with the artist's name and the title on a Kala Yatra Taj Hotel label on the reverse
Exchange Rates*: USD 11 459,35 - 17 189,02
GBP 8 749,63 - 13 124,45
EURO 9 953,12 - 14 929,68
(1)
35 x 55; framed size: 52 x 72.5 x 3 cm
Provenance:
Private collection, Johannesburg.
Inherited thence by descent.
Acquired directly from the artist.
COLLECTOR'S NOTE
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This lot introduces Maqbool Fida Husain to the South African auction market for the first time.
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In March 2025, Husain’s monumental painting Untitled (Gram Yatra) sold in New York for $13.8 million, setting a new world auction record for the artist and modern Indian art.
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Husain achieved the title of the highest-priced painter in India when his painting Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12 sold in New York for $1.6 million in 2008.
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Husain received the Aditya Vikram Birla ‘Kalashikkar’ Award for Lifetime Achievement, India in 1997. This was followed by Honorary Doctorates from Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia University, University of Calicut, and University of Mysore, India in 2007. That same year, he also received the Raja Ravi Varma Award from the Government of Kerala, India.
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In 2004, Husain received the Lalit Kala Ratna Award from Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. This Award is the highest honour for India’s National Academy of Arts and is awarded to artists for their lifelong contributions to and achievements in visual arts.
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In 1968, he won a National Award for Best Experimental Film for his direction of the short film Through the Eyes of a Painter, the same short was previously awarded the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1967. Through the Eyes of a Painter was purchased by Museum of Modern Art, New York.
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Husain was a founding member of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) launched in 1947. Although the group existed for less than a decade it assisted in bringing modern Indian art to a global audience.
COLLECTIONS:
The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai, and the National Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.
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Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art - Evening Sale, 26th Nov, 2025
Currency conversions are based on the exchange rate at the auction's start time and date. Bidders should verify the current exchange rate on the day of the sale. All invoices and payments must be made in South African Rands.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
Logistics
While we endeavour to assist our Clients as much as possible, we require artwork(s) to be delivered and/or collected from our premises by the Client. In instances where a Client is unable to deliver or collect artwork(s), Aspire staff is available to assist in this process by outsourcing the services to one of our preferred Service Providers. The cost for this will be for the Client’s account, with an additional Handling Fee of 15% charged on top of the Service Provider’s invoice.
Aspire Art provides inter-company transfer services for its Clients between Johannesburg and Cape Town branches. These are based on the size of the artwork(s), and charged as follows:
Small (≤60x90x10 cm): R550
Medium (≤90x120x15 cm): R1,100
Large (≤120x150x20 cm): R1,650
Over-size: Special quote
Packaging
A flat fee of R100 will be added to the invoice for packaging of unframed works on paper.
International Collectors Shipping Package
For collectors based outside South Africa who purchase regularly from Aspire Art’s auctions in South Africa, it does not make sense to ship artworks individually or per auction and pay shipping every time you buy another work. Consequently, we have developed a special collectors’ shipping package to assist in reducing shipping costs and the constant demands of logistics arrangements.
For buyers from outside South Africa, we will keep the artworks you have purchased in storage during the year and then ship all the works you have acquired during the year together, so the shipping costs are reduced. At the end of the annual period, we will source various quotes to get you the best price, and ship all your artworks to your desired address at once.
Aspire Art will arrange suitable storage during, and cost-effective shipping at the end, of the annual period.
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Clients are requested to contact the relevant office and inform Aspire Art of which artwork(s) they would like to collect, and allow a 24-hour window for Aspire Art’s logistics department to retrieve the artwork(s) and prepare them for collection.
Handling Fee
Aspire Art charges a 15% Handling Fee on all Logistics, Framing, Restoration and Conservation arranged by Aspire.
