A Melange of Portraits in Bid & Hammer’s Next

The upcoming auction by Bid & Hammer is a carefully curated collection of Portraits & Figuratives comprising artworks by  Manchershaw Fakirjee Pithawalla, Sudhir Khastgir, Satish Sinha, KK Hebbar, KN Ramachandran, SG Vasudev, R. Raja and others. Though the Parsi gentleman’s captivating eyes and overall power have made it the cover page of the catalogue, the sale in terms of value is lead by Ganesh Pyne’s Lady with a Bird. The other star lots are ‘Sri Chaitanya’ by Kshitindranath Mazumdar and ‘Portrait of a Hindustani Royal’ by the acclaimed English artist Henry Ryland (1856 – 1924), whose work is perhaps appearing for the first time ever in an art auction in India.

Ganesh Pyne has featured regularly in Bid & Hammer’s auctions and private sales, but the featured tempera on paper is particularly attractive owing to the colour palettes and the uniqueness of the story behind the work - a rare instance of the reclusive artist penning a heart-warming poem and signing off in both Bengali & English with his friend’s name with a sketch drawing of the same.  Given that this Pyne is coming on the back of a surge in demand for the artist’s paintings this year, to keep things on the low-down and not let collectors get carried away by the hype around the prices, the auction house has decided that estimates would be shared on request with registered bidders. Sources have informed that it would be disclosed a few days prior to the auction or at the start of the sale, as the auction house wants the collectors to focus on the quality of the painting before getting down to the market dynamics.

Estimated at Rs 8 – 10 Lakhs, Kshitindranath Mazumdar’s work from the Vaishnavite saint series can be compared to a plate from the Bharat Kala Bhavan collection published in the Lalit Kala Academy book on the artist by Jaya Appasamy in 1967. The provenance of this work as per the catalogue is from the family of artist and activist Nikhil Biswas. 

The MF Pithawalla carries a price tag of Rs 10 – 12 lakhs, and the watercolour on board by Ryland is estimated at Rs 5 – 7 Lakhs. Sudhir Khastgir’s figure of a dancing woman, featured in an exhibition by Gallerie 88, Kolkata (curated by Prof. Siva Kumar, Santiniketan) is priced between Rs 2.5 – 3.5 Lakhs. Ourselves by R. Raja, an oil on transparent perspex is estimated at Rs 50,000 – 60,000 only, implying that the auction has something for everyone – be it an entrant, investor or seasoned collector.

The other notable contemporary artists featured in the auction are Pradip Maitra, Kandan G of Mangalore -whose portrait of Rabindranath Tagore is one of his rare and early oils, Ajit Dubey – a former principal of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Devajyoti Ray – a tribute to Amrita Sher-gil, and a Bombay School portrait of a Rabari Man, that was exhibited at Dwija Art Gallery last year. Incidentally, another tribute to Tagore is KN Ramachandran’s depiction of Shivaram Karanth, who has been hailed by historian Ramachandra Guha as “every bit Tagore’s equal”. On the theme for the auction, Ankush Dadha, Director of Bid & Hammer, said “Portraiture in art is a popular form that most artists have experimented with at some point or the other. We have put together an exclusive blog on this, with extensive details in each of the featured catalogue essays.”  He further added “there are some more portrait paintings that would be featuring in our next live auction of Significant Indian Art that is being scheduled”. The website mentions the auction will be held in October in Bengaluru.

PORTRAITS & FIGURATIVES - the online auction is on 31st July 2026, from 18:00-20:00 IST. Registration is required to place bids. A refundable earnest deposit amount has to be paid by first time participants. The details can be found at www.bidandhammer.com