Mumbai: 25 Rare MF Husain Paintings Worth ₹25 Crore To Be Auctioned On June 12 Following Bombay HC Order

Mumbai: The art world agog with excitement with the proposed auction of 25 rare paintings of the master MF Husain, valued at over Rs 25 crores, on June 12 pursuant to an order of Justice Riyaz Chagla of Bombay high court.

The much-waited auction will take place at Hamilton House, J.N. Heredia Marg, Ballard Estate. These high-value paintings were secured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) pursuant to a nod from Bombay high court.

In 2006 the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initiated a probe into the Swarup Group and its chairman Swarup Srivastava for alleged misappropriation of Rs 150 crore of the Rs 236 crore lent by NAFED. Srivastava had created a huge sensation in the art world in 2007 by commissioning Husain to paint 100 paintings with each painting costing Rs 1 crore, which was a princely sum in those days.

25 rare MF Husain paintings from the OPCE series to be auctioned in Mumbai on June 12, valued at ₹25 crore

A tribunal in December 2008 permitted NAFED to secure assets of Rs 100 crore, including the Husain paintings, as a part of the proceeds of an alleged loan default case. The matter reached the court of Justice Chagla, who, in February, permitted the auction of the brilliant paintings. Accordingly the auction notice was issued by the sheriff of Mumbai for the auction of 25 paintings through the famed Pundole Art Gallery.

The auction titled, 'M F Husain: An Artist's Vision of the XX Century', includes 25 canvases painted as part of Husain's OPCE - Our Planet Called Earth (OPCE) series.

These paintings were secured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) in connection with the Rs 236 crore loan dispute with Srivastava's Swarup Group of Industries.

Art specialist Dadiba Pundole, in May 2024, submitted the valuation report of the paintings to the HC, valuing it at Rs 25 crore.

The Sheriff of Mumbai had been asked to complete the auction and file a report to the high court by July 3 and obtain final directions for handover of the works.

Explore and bid on iconic works from "Our Planet Called Earth (OPCE)" series, going under the hammer on June 12 via Pundole's official auction platform.