Rare Works by South Asian Modern Masters
Christie’s Mumbai Summer Preview comes to Mumbai from 5 to 9 August 2026. It gives collectors and the public an early look at highlights from the New York auction on 16 September. The preview follows a strong season for Christie’s South Asian sales. It also brings India’s modern masters back into the spotlight. Many of these rare works have remained off the market for decades.
Official exhibition page: https://www.christies.com/
Christie’s Mumbai Summer Preview Highlights
Moreover, The Mumbai preview includes 16 works. Featured artists include Francis Newton Souza, M. F. Husain, S. H. Raza, Ram Kumar and Jehangir Sabavala. Many of these works are exceptionally rare. Several are appearing at auction for the first time. Others have remained out of public view for years.
Among the highlights is Francis Newton Souza’s Building in Trafalgar Square (1955), estimated at $600,000 to $800,000. The work signals the breadth of the sale, where familiar names are presented through a range of periods, subjects and stylistic approaches. Christie’s framing also underscores the continuing international appetite for South Asian art, especially when works carry strong artistic lineage and long absence from public view.
Mumbai Preview Before the New York Auction
Christie’s also presents The Meeting Ground – Scenes from the KNMA Collection in London. The exhibition runs until 21 August 2026. Together, the two exhibitions create a transnational moment for South Asian art, moving between the auction market and museum-style presentation while reinforcing Christie’s wider positioning of the field as both commercially active and institutionally significant.
For readers and collectors in Mumbai, the preview offers a focused opportunity to see important works ahead of auction season, without needing to travel to New York. The public exhibition will be open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, except on 9 August, when viewing is by appointment only.
Christie’s Mumbai Summer Preview: South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art
Dates: 5 to 9 August 2026
Venue: Mumbai
Viewing hours: 10 am to 6 pm, except 9 August by appointment only
cover image: Francis Newton Souza, Building in Trafalgar Square | 1955 Image Credit: Christie’s
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