Sotheby’s September Sale stars Indian Masters

September ushers in autumnal accents and the auction market brims with a brilliant sale by Sotheby’s in London of an upcoming auction of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art at Sotheby’s in London on 30th September 2025.

A pair of beauties by Francis Newton Souza, another epic quartet  by M.F. Husain, Sayed Haider Raza’s Shanti La Paix , Bikash Bhattacharjee’s penetrating painting Two Sisters and K.K.Hebbar’s historic landscape , all belong to milestones in art market history.

Francis Newton Souza, Emperor, oil on board, 1957

From his most illustrious period of work from the mid- to late 1950s, Emperor is one of the most important works by acclaimed Indian modern artist Francis Newton Souza. Painted in London during the early years of his career, this masterwork was featured in a landmark Souza’s landmark show at Gallery One in the city and is published in the renowned 1962 monograph by Edwin Mullins. Exploring themes of power, Emperor is a significant composition in Souza’s distinctive style and comes to market with exceptional provenance and exhibition history.

Francis Newton Souza, Houses in Hampstead

Returning to auction for the first time since 2000, Houses in Hampstead combines Souza’s geometric and gestural techniques laid out in the manner of a lateral landscape. Souza’s landscapes remain among some of his finest and most accomplished works, and the painting also serves as a tribute to the Hampstead area in London, the city where he found international recognition and commercial success for the first time.

M. F. Husain, Chittore Fort, oil on canvas, 1964

Hailing from the celebrated collection of Chester and Davida Herwitz which kickstarted the market for South Asian art, Chittore Fort highlights Maqbool Fida Husain’s celebrated use of colour and brushwork and is an exceptional landscape from one of artist’s most favoured periods. Husain travelled to Rajasthan in the 1960s and became enchanted by its terrain and the punctuations of colour in its cultural synergy. Chittore Fort encapsulates the beauty of the region , the architectural and historical immensity of the Fort and the signature of colour tones.

M. F. Husain, Untitled, 1959

Important for its auction history, this canvas was sold at Sotheby’s in a landmark series of single-owner sales of the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection in 2000. Untitled  makes an exciting return to the market 25 years later. A cherished subject and series of the artist, the women and a musician are rendered in a cubist, impressionist, style developed by Husain early on in his career.

Bikash Bhattacharjee, Two Sisters No. 2, 1982,

Acquired directly from the artist by Chester and Davida Herwitz and later featured in the landmark 1995 single-owner sale of their collection at Sotheby’s, Two Sisters No.2,  ranks among Bikash Bhattacharjee’s most powerful narrative works. Set against the backdrop of a Calcutta alleyway, an abject desolation setting, central to  his practice, the painting captures a haunting moment between two women, rendered with enchanting psychological depth and emotive deprivation. Bhattacharjee’s love for human realism heightens the emotional resonance with a subtle signature of hardship, affirming his reputation as a master storyteller of urban India.

Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar, Untitled (Summer), 1967

Hailing from the distinguished collection of Mrs. Ute Rettberg of Surya Galerie, Germany, Untitled (Summer) by K.K. Hebbar bears witness to the friendship between the artist and the gallerist. Founded in 1973, Surya Galerie was the first of its kind in Europe, with Mrs. Rettberg playing a key role in promoting Hebbar’s work abroad. In Untitled (Summer), we see Hebbar’s remarkable ability to conjure a compelling ambience through his post-impressionistic technique and vibrant palette. Painted in 1967, the work is a striking example of the expressive style that would earn him international acclaim.

Sayed Haider Raza, Shanti La Paix, circa 2000s,

This is the first auction appearance of Shanti La Paix, which remained in a French private collection after being gifted by the artist shortly after its completion in 2001. Raza’s mature practice reached its apogée in his Gorbio studio in the South of France, where painting became a meditative ritual. The work reflects years of refinement toward a unique abstraction imbued with spiritual symbolism. Rendered in soft greys and blues and anchored by Raza’s signature bindu, Shanti La Paix embodies his belief in art as a sacred act and a path to inner harmony.

IMAGES: SOTHEBY’S LONDON

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