Mistress of colours
Maithili Parekh is confident that Raza’s unsold artwork will find a private collector
When SH Raza’s most expensive painting, didn’t go under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York auction, the news sent shockwaves across the globe. Just as much as the art community was jolted, the team at Sotheby’s too was surprised at the unexpected result. “It was definitely a disappointment,” says Maithili Parekh, director, business development India, Sotheby’s.
Maithili, who is travelling down south, meeting artists and visiting galleries in south India, was in Bengaluru for a visit and revealed more about the turn of events. Valued at 12.5 crores,
` Village with Church would have created history if it was sold. It would have made Raza, the most expensive modern artist in Indian history. “Everybody was surprised. But the disappointment does not mean that we will step back. We are working towards placing the artwork in a private collection,” says Maithili. The director’s passion and conviction in selling art reflects in her work and observation. “The auction result does not indicate any f u n d a me n t a l problem with Raza’s work. He is still one of the best,” adds the director.
Maithili who started her career as an oil- trader was always passionate about arts. “I was working with Morgan Stanley on Wall Street. I was trading oil, but whenever I could get a break I would head straight to MOMA or Sotheby’s to get a glimpse of artworks,” says the art lover who quit trading for a career in the art world. But despite her art history background, she learnt a lot on the job. “It was only after I started working at galleries that I learnt the art of connoisseurship,” says Maithili who joined Sotheby’s five years ago.
Talking about the current art scenario in the sub- continent, she says, emergence of young artists and collectors is the buzz. At the same time Indian art is in demand across the international market. With so many artists’ works up for auction in other countries, Maithili observes that serious collectors are showing a keen interest in Indian art. She says, “Tate ( in UK) has a South Asian Art acquisition committee and they are seriously looking at acquiring works from here. For our upcoming London auction we are sourcing Indian modern and contemporary artworks.”
Maithili who is adept with world economy, understands the pulse of the art market. She says that the market has recovered and is stable, “During 2005- 07, it was an unrealistic frenzy and too much movement of art. But at present there is a recalibration in the market.” When not calculating the risks in the art market, Maithili is off to South Africa with her husband. “We love the forests and the safaris, that’s where we spend most of our time,” she says. investigative story by William D Cohan talks about the conflict and ambiguity in the history of three paintings by George Grosz at MOMA. Cohan wrote that the museum houses a collection with questionable provenances.