Rediff

London, Jun 12: A work of art by Indian artist Francis Newton Souza has fetched a world auction record price of 1,273,250 pounds at the Christie's in London.

"Amongst the masterpieces offered, Francis Newton Souza's 'Birth' (1955) realised 1,273,250 pounds, setting a new world auction record for the artist and for any Indian modern and contemporary work of art," Hugo Weihe, Christie's International director of Asian Art and Yamini Mehta, head of sale, said on Wednesday.

"Today's exceptional sale which realised 5,432,050 pounds, presented Christie's global clients with an inspiring array of works by over 50 of South Asia's leading modern and contemporary artists," they said in a joint statement.

Twelve artists' records were set in total, reflecting the continuing strength and depth of demand for this important and vibrant category.

"We are pleased that the works from the Harmony Art Foundation in association with Barclays Wealth were well received, setting three world auction records, led by Navjot Altaf's 'December 15th', which realised 22,500 pounds," they said.

This sale draws Christie's Asian art sales for the first half of 2008 to an exhilarating conclusion, realising an overall total for New York, Hong Kong and London of 13,198,396 pounds -- the highest ever total achieved for one season in South Asian Modern plus Contemporary Art.

"We now look forward to offering Syed Haider Raza's key work 'La Terre' at Christie's London Post War and Contemporary Art evening sale on June 30. This will be followed by a highly anticipated set of autumn auctions, led by Christie's New York on September 16," they said.