New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) Rare artworks of iconic artists MV Dhurandhar, MF Hussain, Anish Kapoor, Nataraj Sharma and FN Souza will go under the hammer at the two upcoming Astaguru's auctions, starting September 22, the online auction house has announced.

The two auctions, "Present Future" and "Modern Treasures" from September 22-23 and 25-26, respectively, will have an eclectic assortment of over 120 works -- including paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations -- by celebrated modern Indian masters and leading contemporary artists of India.

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"The 'Present Future' auction represents prevalent art trends and gives an insight into the future of contemporary Indian art while the 'Modern Treasures' auction presents a wholesome view of the journey of modern Indian art, with works spanning multiple periods and genres.

"The Indian art market is constantly expanding and witnessing new possibilities in terms of the influx of important works," Sneha Gautam, vice-president (client relations) at AstaGuru Auction House, said in a statement.

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While 'Present Future' will display a curated selection of works from eminent artists such as Thukral & Tagra, Surendran Nair, Raqib Shaw, Debanjan Roy, Jagannath Panda, Dhananjay Singh, Suryakant Lokhande and others; 'Modern Treasures' will showcase a rare and unseen artworks by iconic figures of modern Indian art including Tyeb Mehta, SH Raza, Ganesh Pyne, Akbar Padamsee, Jogen Chowdhury and Bikash Bhattacharjee.

Leading the lineup on 'Modern Treasures' are works by artist Tyeb Mehta and MV Dhurandhar -- both appearing in auction for the first time.

Scaling over 5 feet, the oil on canvas painting from Mehta's 'Diagonal' series, touted to be one of the most important bodies of work, will be offered at an estimate of Rs 21-26 crore.

The 1922 untitled oil on canvas painting by Dhurandhar of 'Draupadi Vastraharan', the grave disgrace of Draupadi at the hands of the Kaurava brother from epic Mahabharta, is offered at an estimate of Rs 2.5-3 crore.

Another prominent work on the auction is 'Safdar Hashmi' by Husain. Executed by the iconic artists on the day of the death of revered playwright Safdar Hashmi in 1989, the work spanning over 10 feet is a testament to his fearless and boundless artistic approach to portraying the injustices that occur in society, is estimated at Rs 5-6 crore.

The auction will also showcase a stunning diptych by Akbar Padamsee. Titled 'Paysage Aux Fleurs & Nu', the oil on canvas work will be offered for bidding at Rs 4-6 crore.

On the other hand, leading the contemporary lineup of 'Present Future' are the works by British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor from his notable series of reflective stainless steel discs.

Pieces from this series attempt to create both a seamless and distorted view of what they reflect depending on their finishes. The piece, spanning over five feet in diameter was created in 2011, and will be offered at an estimate of Rs 5.5-7.5 crore.

Another key highlight of the auction is artist Nataraj Sharma's "Swimmers Manual", a nine-feet oil on canvas work. Executed in 2018, it is estimated between Rs 30-35 lakh.

In the auction's catalogue are also two large-scale works "Science, Mystery & Magic II (Superman)" and "Phantom @ XI - B III" by Thukral & Tagra, estimated at Rs 15-20 lakh each.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)