September 2026: What’s Hot At Auctions This Season
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Christ in a Village, an oil on board by F. N. Souza, is one of the three works estimated to fetch between Rs 12 crore and Rs 18 crore. Image courtesy: Saffronart
Works by Gaitonde, Souza and Dhurandhar appear with the highest estimates
One of the two big months for Indian art auctions—September—has begun, and as over all previous years, five superlative sales are lined up, which should throw some record-breaking prices, given the current bull run of the Indian art market. Across all these sales (three sales as catalogues are not available for two yet), there are three canvases that are billed at the number 1 spot, each estimated to fetch Rs 12 crore to Rs 18 crore. These are an Untitled oil by V. S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), Christ in a Village by F. N. Souza (1924-2002) and Shri Mahalakshmi by M. V. Dhurandhar (1867-1944).
Here’s a quick look at what’s hot across these five auctions, even though two—Sotheby’s and Astaguru—are yet to release their catalogues. The calendar is as follows:
| S.No. | Auction Name | Date | Venue |
| 1. | Christie’s South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction | September 16 | New York |
| 2. | Saffronart’s Autumn Auction | September 19 | New Delhi |
| 3. | Pundole’s The Fine Art Sale | September 24 | Mumbai |
| 4. | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction | September 29 (catalogue not yet released) | London |
| 5. | Astaguru’s ManiFest sale | TBA | TBA |
The 18 Most Expensive Works of Indian Art Across September Auctions as per Estimates*
(*Across 3 auctions as catalogues of the other 2 are not released yet)
1.Untitled, oil on canvas by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, 1963, 45 ¼ x 50 ¼ in. at Pundole’s, Rs 12 crore – Rs 18 crore
1.Christ in a Village, oil on board by F. N. Souza, 1958, 23.5 x 47.5 in. at Saffronart, Rs 12 crore – Rs 18 crore
1.Shri Mahalakshmi, oil on canvas pasted on board by Mahadev Visvanath Dhurandhar, 1899, 59.75 x 27.25 in. at Saffronart, Rs 12 crore – Rs 18 crore
2.Untitled, acrylic on canvas by S. H.Raza, 1989, 39.25 x 39.25 in. at Saffronart, Rs 7.5 crore – Rs 9.5 crore
3.Building in Trafalgar Square, oil on board by F. N. Souza, 1955, 23 ¾ x 48 in. at Christie’s, USD 600,000 – USD 800,000 (approx. Rs 5.6 crore – Rs 7.5 crore)
4.Village Otta Corse, oil on canvas by S. H. Raza, 1958, 23.5 x 28.75 in. at Saffronart, Rs 5 crore – Rs 7 crore
5. Kurma Avatar with Savita and Aparajita, oil on canvas by A. Ramachandran, 1996, 79.75 x 55.5 in. at Saffronart, Rs 4.5 crore – Rs 6.5 crore
6.Untitled, acrylic on canvas by Jangarh Singh Shyam (1962-2001), 1999, 91 3/8 x 69 5/8 in. at Pundole’s, Rs 4 crore – Rs 6 crore
6.Untitled, oil on canvas by Manjit Bawa, 2005, 42 ¾ x 32 5/8 in. at Pundole’s, Rs 4 crore – Rs 6 crore
6. Untitled, oil on canvas by Krishen Khanna, 2016, 47.75 x 107.5 in. at Saffronart, Rs 4 crore – Rs 6 crore
7. Woman with Lamp, oil on board by F. N. Souza, 1949, 30 x 24 in. at Christie’s, USD 400,000 – USD 600,000 (approx. Rs 3.7 crore – Rs 5.6 crore)
7. A Progression of Sails, oil on canvas by Jehangir Sabavala, 1969, 30 x 50 in. at Christie’s, USD 400,000 – USD 600,000 (approx. Rs 3.7 crore – Rs 5.6 crore)
8. The Red Girl, oil on canvas by M. F. Husain, 1952, 48 x 23 7/8 in. at Pundole’s, Rs 3 crore – Rs 5 crore
8. Bindu Panchatatva, acrylic on canvas by S. H. Raza, 1996, 47 ¼ x 47 3/8 in. at Pundole’s, Rs 3 crore – Rs 5 crore
8. Untitled, oil on canvas by Manjit Bawa, 1988, 31.25 x 27.5 in. at Saffronart, Rs 3 crore – Rs 5 crore
8. Last Supper II, reverse painting on acrylic sheet by Madhvi Parekh, 2011, 72.75 x 244 in. at Saffronart, Rs 3 crore – Rs 5 crore
8. Untitled, oil on canvas by N. S. Bendre, 1968, 39 x 34.25 in. at Saffronart, Rs 3 crore – Rs 5 crore
8. Untitled, burnt wood, leather, cowrie shells, ceramic bead, cotton cord and mirror by Satish Gujral, 1988, 80.5 x 74.5 x 6 in. at Saffronart, Rs 3 crore – Rs 5 crore