London – La Terre, one of the largest and most important works by Sayed Haider Raza (1922-2016) achieved £3,315,400 at Bonhams' Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art sale today (Tuesday 10 December) at New Bond Street, London. The work had an estimate of £1,500,000-2,500,000.

Priya Singh, Head of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art at Bonhams, commented: "Painted in 1985, La Terre or 'The Earth' was one of the largest and most important paintings by Sayed Haider Raza ever to come to auction and we are beyond delighted with today's result. Shaped by his early experiences in the forests of his native village of Barbaria, La Terre was Raza's abstract love letter to his native India. With a sister work having featured in the main pavilion at Venice this year, we are not surprised this work sparked such excitement amongst collectors. The total for the sale is also the highest result achieved for a South Asian auction at Bonhams – showing not only the strength of this market, but Bonhams' particularly impressive strength in this field."

La Terre features many recurring motifs of Raza's work: a square canvas meticulously divided by a distinct earthy colour palette, and the use of intersecting horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. The work was deeply informed by the principles of Hindu philosophy, reflecting Raza's commitment to intertwining his artistic practice with his cultural heritage. It featured in the artist's major retrospective at Gallery Chemould in India in 1990.

The 57-lot sale achieved a total of £5,820,910.

Other highlights of the sale included:

• Jagdish Swaminathan (Indian, 1928-1994), Untitled. Sold for £775,100. (Estimate: £250,000 - 350,000).

• A Ramachandaran (1935-2024), Visions of Ramdev, Song of the Shimbul Tree (Diptych). Sold for £444,900 - A New World Record for the Artist. (Estimate: £150,000 - 200,000).

• Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011), Ganesh Darbar. Sold for £343,300. (Estimate: £250,000 - £300,000).

Sayed Haider Raza (1922-2016) was born in rural Central India and studied art in Nagpur and Bombay before moving to Paris in 1950 on a scholarship to study at L'École des Beaux-Arts. During his decades-long stay in France, Raza progressively abandoned a desire to depict a tangible, constructed reality through his landscapes' interpretations. After delving into a variety of influences from Expressionism, Raza's abstract style evolved toward a more distinct geometric abstraction. By the late 70s, Raza had fully committed to the use of pure geometric forms in his work.

In 1947 Raza co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group (PAG) alongside Krishna Hawlaji Ara and Francis Newton Souza, with the aim of diverging from the Western realist traditions taught in Indian art schools. This marked the beginning of a broader shift, as artists sought to blend indigenous traditions with contemporary influences. By the 1970s and 1980s, Raza felt an increasingly strong emotional and spiritual connection to his native land. During this period, he began a series of paintings titled La Terre. Reflecting on this artistic journey, Raza stated: "I was inspired to conceive a painting which could be a letter to my mother country, India, revealing my experiences, discoveries, and acquisitions. I hoped the painting could be evidence that I was never cut off from my sources. The memories, conscious and unconscious, were ever present."

10 December 2024