Show Cause

The trade pundits had warned Uday Jain against holding an auction when the art mart is in turmoil but the director of Dhoomimal Art Gallery was undeterred. “We have a balanced collection. There is artwork by young and veteran artists. Moreover people should contribute for the cause; The proceeds from the auction will be used for polio eradication,” said Jain,minutes before the auction began at the Embassy of Switzerland on Saturday evening. The result was disappointing. Out of 92 lots,just 23 found buyers. The highest bid was for Satish Gujral’s 2006 untitled acrylic on canvas that sold for Rs 15 lakh. KS Kulkarni’s oil of board titled Couple,with an estimate price of Rs 8-10 lakh,went for Rs 6.5 lakh and Gurcharan Das’s acrylic on canvas went for Rs 3 lakh. There were several works of the masters that failed to find takers. If MF Husain’s watercolour Galib remained unsold,so did Anjolie Ela Menon’s oil on board,Mother and Child.