A painting by revered art maestro, Zainul Abedin, has set a new record, fetching $692,048 (approximately Tk8.27 crore) at an auction by Sotheby's - marking the highest price ever achieved by any Bangladeshi artist.
The untitled painting was sold at the conclusion of the "Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art" auction organised by the renowned auction house Sotheby’s in New York on Thursday (26 September).
The artwork, a gift from Abedin to his friend Cedomil Plazek, was sold for £516,000, equivalent to $692,048, or around Tk8.27 crore.
Described as "ink and wash on paper", the piece is signed and dated "Zainul / 1970", with a stamp on the lower right corner. It was created in 1970.
Sotheby’s, a historic auction house founded in London nearly 300 years ago and now headquartered in New York, organised the auction where several of Abedin's paintings reached record prices.
Another of Abedin’s works, also a gift to Plazek, was sold for £480,000, or $643,690, equating to Tk7.69 crore. This piece, an oil on canvas, was signed and dated "Zainul. 71".
According to Sotheby’s, Cedomil Plazek was a hydrogeologist and a representative of Geotehnika Yugoslavia working for the United Nations.
He resided in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for many years while working on a UN groundwater resources development project, during which time he befriended Zainul Abedin, who later gifted him these paintings.
A third painting was sold for £216,000, or $289,663, which amounts to Tk3.46 crore.
This piece, an ink and pencil on paper, is signed, dated, and inscribed "Zainul / 25/5/70 / Jordan" in the lower right corner.
In early 2018, another Zainul Abedin painting from his Santal series was sold by Christie’s, the New York-based auction house, for Tk1.5 crore.
