Osian's called out for trying to sell fakes

A high-profile auction scheduled for this month-end that includes one of the crucial country’s best-known painters has run into trouble with mavens calling into question the authenticity of the artworks.

The artwork global in Mumbai and Delhi began humming with frantic calls, WhatsApp pings, and emails once the catalogue for Neville Tuli-run Osian’s-Connoisseurs of Art Private Limited’s February 27 auction at Allure, Le Meridien in New Delhi used to be released.

While the catalogue features works through an impressive line-up of masters such as F N Souza, M F Husain, Vasudeo S Gaitonde and Okay H Ara, gallerists, artwork aficionados and artwork historians said quite a lot of those artwork are of unsure provenance and described one of the crucial “copies” as “laughable”.

Tuli has replied through announcing he has documents to end up the authenticity of each and every artwork that can go on show on February 27.

Some of the works called out as fakes through stakeholders include an untitled oil-on-canvas (1957) through F N Souza; ‘Shadow of Death’, an oil-oncanvas (1979) through Bhupen Khakhar; Jehangir Sabavala’s 1964 oil-on-canvas from the enduring ‘Icarus Series’; and Akbar Padamsee’s oil-on-board (1952) from the ‘Prophet Series’.

Speaking of Khakhar’s ‘Shadow of Death’ — which has an estimated tag of Rs 60-90 lakh — fellow artist and close good friend of the deceased painter, Gulammohammed Sheikh, said: “It’s now not a Bhupen Khakhar.” Concurring with Sheikh, artist Atul Dodiya said: “In 1979, Bhupen used to be in his high with his unique style, which the entire artwork global is accustomed to. And this work doesn’t match with anything he has ever accomplished. It’s now not a Bhupen painting.”

Gallerist Shireen Gandhy, who's accustomed to Khakhar’s works for the reason that 1960s and has been instrumental in placing together a book at the artist through English painter Timothy Hyman, too said she had now not come across “this work” of Khakhar sooner than.

Tuli, then again, said both Sheikh and Dodiya are improper. “They have now not seen the painting or the written poem at the verso. The better version of this painting is in the Collection of Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla, the biggest collector of Bhupen’s work. They had been part of the Gujarat underground homosexual rights motion together. The owner of this work used to be a detailed good friend. It has been seen through many shut pals of Bhupen who would seek advice from the house, together with Ratnakar Nadkarni who worked for Kekoo Gandhy to shop for and repair old Bhupen’s. It is clearly documented.”

Cultural theorist, curator and poet Ranjit Hoskote, who has put together two exhaustive books on Jehangir Sabavala — ‘Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolution of Jehangir Sabavala’; and ‘The Crucible of Painting: The Art of Jehangir Sabavala’ — said he hasn’t come around the painter’s work incorporated in the Osian’s catalogue (1964 oil-oncanvas from the enduring ‘Icarus Series’) at any point all over his exhaustive research.

(Left ) The original painting through modernist FN Souza called ‘Titian’s Grandfather’ used to be created in 1955 in London (Right) The ‘untitled’ 1957 painting that can be offered at the upcoming auction in Delhi

The catalogue, then again, says the provenance of the painting can be traced to an old Pune-based Parsee circle of relatives’s assortment. According to Tuli, between 1993 and 1997, when he had many meetings with Sabavala, the painter shared all his albums, catalogues, artworks and documents. Tuli claimed that the artist, at that point, had no Icarus sequence works with him. “This explicit work used to be bought from a Punebased circle of relatives between 1975 and 1979 through an old Hyerabad-based assortment,” he said.

About the 1957 F N Souza, an artwork dealer, who didn't need to be known, said the work is reminiscent of an original painting through the artist called ‘Titian’s Grandfather’. According to him, the painting, created in 1955 in London, used to be offered through Gallery One and later through Saffronart. Conor Macklin, owner and director of the Grosvenor Gallery, added: “The work presented at Osian’s lot no 18 — individually — turns out like a poor imitation of the original.” The Souza carries an estimated tag of Rs 1.2 cr-1.8 cr.

The Osian catalogue, then again, says this about the painting: “The work used to be bought without delay from the Artist F N Souza through Late Shri Pandurang D Gaikwad, a famend businessman and a running partner of Kumarbhau Samarth, the brotherin-law of the famous movie actress Shobhna Samarth (the mummy of the movie actresses Nutan and Tanuja). The painting used to be bought as part of the ‘rukhwat’ at the time of marriage of his daughter Kumari Hemlata Pandurang Gaikwad to Balkrishnasinhraje Yeshwantrao Mukane (the more youthful brother to H H Digvijaysinhji Yeshwantrao Mukane -Maharaja of Jawhar) in 1958.”

While the spouse of modernist Akbar Padamsee, Bhanu Padamsee, denied that the oil-on-board (1952) from the ‘Prophet Series’ in Osian catalogue is the 90-year-old artist’s work, Tuli claimed the work used to be talented without delay through Akbar to the collector Abdul Rahim Khan in the late 1960s in the presence of artist Bal Chabda. “Along with this work, the original copper plates of Akbar’s Intaglio 1961 sequence had been later bought and a 1963 panorama which Akbar authenticated in 2008 when they wanted to promote it, he claimed. “This time they may now not meet him as he is in poor health and Bhanu didn't meet them,” he said.

(Left) Art mavens have raised doubts over the autheticity of Jehangir Sabavala’s 1964 oil on canvas from the ‘Icarus Series’; Top artists vehemently deny that ‘Shadow of Death’ through Bhupen Khakhar has been created through the late artist; Bhanu Padamsee, spouse of modernist Akbar Padamsee, said this 1952-work doesn’t function of their data

Souza’s work presented at Osian’s lot no. 18 — an untitled work from 1957 — turns out like a poor imitation of the original (Titian’s Grandfather; 1955)

Conor Macklin