AstaGuru is rolling out its “Iconic Masters” auction on November 23–24, 2025, and the roster reads like the modern Indian art starter pack everyone pretends they’ve already studied. Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy, Subramanyan, Souza, Ara, Husain, Gujral, Khanna, Vaikuntam, all in one catalogue.
L to R: Raja Ravi Varma – A Set Of 45 Sketches On 36 Sheets. MF Husain – Untitled (Horse)
The Works People Are Already Whispering About
The headline piece is the 45-work Ravi Varma suite, estimated at ₹150–200 crore. It’s the kind of lot that makes seasoned collectors suddenly very polite in previews. Portraits, village life, myth, still lifes. A whole range of Varma’s eye, all in one place.
Amrita Sher-Gil’s “Portrait of Mother” (circa 1930) comes in next with an estimate of ₹100–150 crore. It’s Sher-Gil when she was still shaping the vocabulary she’d become known for: steady brushwork, quiet emotional precision, and the unmistakable sense that she was seeing her subject on her own terms.
F. N. Souza’s “Untitled (Nude After Henri Matisse)” brings a different kind of confidence, estimated at ₹2.5–3.5 crore. More colour, less rage, a calmer figure who looks like she’s been told the world’s worst-kept secret and is choosing to ignore it.
There’s M. F. Husain’s “Warrior” (1951), at ₹1.5–2.5 crore, offering an early look at his sculptural forms and Cubist edges. And another Husain — the “Untitled Horse” on fabric. Which is also sitting at ₹1.5–2.5 crore.
Krishen Khanna’s “Bandwallas” diptych lands at ₹2–3 crore, and Souza’s 1963 “Head” arrives at ₹80 lakh–1.2 crore, looking appropriately unsettled for something painted during the most existential phase of his career.
L to R: M F Husain. FN Souza – Untitled (Nude After Henri Matisse)
The Vibe, Without the Museum Voice
Instead of building a grand narrative around the works, this auction feels more like AstaGuru placing the greatest hits on the table and stepping back. No sweeping statements. No forced nostalgia. Just pieces that shaped an entire movement, presented plainly and confidently. There’s something refreshing about that. The sense that the modernists don’t need framing devices anymore. Their relevance is the story.
The Art Speaks. We Listen
The market has been circling back to the modernists for a while, but this catalogue pushes the reset button. It reminds you that before contemporary Indian art became a global conversation, these artists were defining what “Indian modernity” could look like. Sometimes gently, often aggressively, always ahead of their time.
All images: AstaGuru