A total of 25 works from DAG’s own collection were sold much higher than their pre-sale estimations, with some phenomenal standouts being Amrita Sher-Gil which sold for INR 70 lakh (above the higher estimate of INR 60 lakh) and MF Husain which sold for INR 22 lakh (above the higher estimate of INR 20 lakh).
The auction exceeded the expectations and raised INR 2,79,60,000, out of which forty per cent of the amount will be donated to the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust.
The 25 works by masters of modern Indian art presented at this auction included MF Husain, Amrita Sher-Gil, SH Raza, Jamini Roy, FN Souza, KH Ara, Sunil Das, GR Santosh, J Sultan Ali, Natvar Bhavsar, Sakti Burman, Avinash Chandra, Krishna Reddy, PT Reddy, Anupam Sud, Bimal Dasgupta, Shanti Dave, Rabin Mondal, Laxman Pai, Madhvi Parekh, SohanQadri, Gogi Saroj Pal, VedNayar, Shobha Broota and P Khemraj.
Speaking on the association as an Auction Partner, Ashish Anand, MD & CEO, DAG said, “Since our inception in 1993, DAG has always believed in the power of art to impact social change."
"Last night we came together to celebrate the power of hope and importance of charitable giving to support the stellar work of the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust."
"After our first success of the Charity Gala at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, we are happy to see a similar response in Delhi. We are proud to be a part of such a significant cause."
"All the works featured in the auction had no reserve price or buyer’s premium and these artists have been critical to the development of modern Indian art.”
DAG (formerly known as the Delhi Art Gallery) was established in 1993 in New Delhi, and over the past 25 years, has built a reputation for the quality of its collection that represents the expanse of Indian art practice.
This extensive collection charts a historic continuum, from the early works of academic artists trained in Bengal and Bombay, to modernists from Baroda, Delhi and beyond, and includes artworks by some of India’s most celebrated artists, including Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy, SH Raza, MF Husain, Tyeb Mehta, FN Souza, Avinash Chandra and Chittaprosad.
With the aim of taking Indian modernism to a wider audience, DAG now has gallery spaces in the historic Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, and the iconic Fuller Building in Manhattan, New York, in addition to its gallery in Delhi.
It regularly participates in international fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Armory New York, Art Dubai, Masterpiece London and India Art Fair.
The mandate of taking art to the people has led to museum-quality exhibition collaborations with stellar art institutions such as the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi, the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh and the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.
The most recent and monumental collaboration has been with the Archaeological Survey of India—with the Drishyakala museum at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Red Fort being inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister on 23 January 2019.
With the democratization of Indian art as its core aim, DAG consistently hosts outreach programmes for students of schools and colleges, and also runs a pioneering programme for the visually impaired by allowing them to experience art through tactile aids.