The towering and serene poplar trees of the Dutch village of Neunen, immortalized in Vincent Van Gogh’s "L'allee aux deux promeneur" could soon take up permanent residence halfway around the world in the tropical setting of a modern-day mansion in New Dehli. Saffronart, the booming Indian art auction Web site co-founded by Harvard Business School grads Minal and Dinesh Vazirani in 2000, is set to open bidding in its inaugural sale of Western art over the next two days, February 15 and 16. The sale, featuring 73 lots by 35 blue-chip western artists, is estimated to bring in $3.3-4.2 million. The works hail from the modernist period in its widest sense, from 1860s to the 1970s, and range in price from $1,500 to $1 million.
While the major brick-and-mortar houses Sotheby's and Christie's look East, Saffronart seems to be looking West — counting on expanding its (mostly) Indian clientelle's taste beyond more familiar domestic masters towards the big names in European and American art. The auction house is a pioneer in the online auction niche — it was the first to sell a work for $1 million at an online auction as well as the first to get a $1 million bid via mobile phone — but it still has a lot of growing to do before it is on the level with the global competition. Saffronart's Chief Operating Officer Nish Bhutani told ARTINFO that varying its offerings is a way for the titan of online art commerce to reach out to new audiences, attracting "young, first-time collectors." He addd that the auction house is "conscious of the growing interest of Indian collectors in Western art, particularly over the last four or five years, and is optimistic about this pioneering auction."
While the Van Gogh is the standout, there are plenty of other works by well-known artists, and many at relatively affordable prices. In the Impressionist camp, Camille Pissarro’s lush green, sweeping strokes in "Lisiere du Bois" is valued at $220,000-280,000, while the small but colorful "Chalands sur la Seine par temps gris" by French neo-Impressionist Maximilien Luce is expected to fetch $22,000–28,000. The 20th-century works on offer include Salavador Dali's "Untitled (Angels)," a sketch depicting two angels locked in an embrace (est. $20,000-25,000), and a prolific selection of ceramics by Pablo Picasso. The artists Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Georges Braque, David Hockney, and Andy Warhol are also featured.