London – La Terre, one of the largest and most important works by Sayed Haider Raza (1922-2016) leads Bonhams' Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art on Tuesday 10 December at New Bond Street, London. The work has 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' is one of the largest and most important paintings by Sayed Haider Raza ever to come to auction. Shaped by his early experiences in the forests of his native village of Barbaria, Madhya Pradesh, La Terre is Raza's abstract love letter to his native India. The work features in photographs as a work in progress in Raza's studio and he clearly dedicated an enormous energy and attention to the piece. The work not only showcases Raza's distinctive style but also highlights the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings that define his artistic vision. With a sister work having featured in the main pavilion at Venice this year, we are delighted to now bring one of Raza's finest works to auction."

La Terre includes 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 is deeply informed by the principles of Hindu philosophy, reflecting Raza's commitment to intertwining his artistic practice with his cultural heritage.

The work has been widely exhibited and published and featured in the artist's major retrospective at Gallery Chemould in India in 1990.

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."

Other highlights of the sale include:

• Jagdish Swaminathan (Indian, 1928-1994), Untitled. Estimate: £300,000 - 500,000.

• A Ramachandaran (1935-2024), Visions of Ramdev, Song of the Shimbul Tree (Diptych). Estimate: £150,000 - 200,000.

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

25 November 2024