Kolkata: Works of Indian masters, including Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, MF Hussain, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Chintamani Kar, Sunil Das, Ganesh Haloi, Jogen Chowdhury, Paresh Maity, Kishen Khanna and Manu Parekh, will go under the hammer in what is being billed as the first such online auction in eastern India, bringing together works and archival material linked to some of the country’s most celebrated creative figures.The auction follows two days of preview held on Thursday and Friday that drew art lovers, collectors, institutions and art enthusiasts. The online bidding opens access to a wider global audience.A key highlight of the auction is a rare autograph book belonging to Geeta Roy, singer and wife of Bengal School artist Prasanta Roy. The book contains original writings, inscriptions and personal notes by leading literary and artistic personalities of the time, including Rabindranath and Abanindranath. The artefact is being presented as a rare cultural document offering a direct connection to Bengal’s artistic and intellectual milieu.The auction places strong emphasis on Bengal’s contribution to modern Indian art, while also situating regional masters within the broader national movement. Works associated with the Bengal School and later modernist traditions will be presented alongside pieces by prominent Indian artists whose practices shaped 20th-century visual culture.“For nearly three decades, our mission has been to elevate and preserve the rich tapestry of Indian art,” said Goutam Das, founder and director of Eye Within Art, which is organising the event. “Offering the Geeta Roy autograph book alongside pivotal Bengal painters allows collectors a rare, tangible connection to the creative pulse of Bengal’s Golden Age.”The move to an online format reflects a wider shift in the art market, where digital auctions have increasingly enabled cross-border participation and greater visibility for significant works. For Kolkata, long regarded as one of India’s most important cultural centres, the auction represents both a tribute to its artistic legacy and a new chapter in how art from the region reaches collectors worldwide.
