Osian's Auction Catalogue Masterpieces and Museum-Quality III | March 2004

48 OSIAN’S 15 SARADA CHARAN UKIL (1890-1940 / b. Dacca, present-day Bangladesh) Saraswati S/d in Bengali l.r. Pencil on paper, (Bengali calendar: 1344) 1937 49.5 x 36.5 cm (19.5 x 14.4 in) Minor preservation work will be required to consolidate the paper. Rs. 225,000 – 275,000 US$ 5,000 – 6,100 GB£ 2,750 – 3,350 “ …A pencil drawing Saraswati by Sarada shows where this artist scores. The cultivation of beautiful lines since the beginning of Indian art, one of its main ambitions – has reached a high, perhaps a final stage in this type of work. One cannot imagine that it will be possible to carry it any further…” (Rudi von Leyden, in The Evening News of India, 11.06.1940) OSIANS S.I.R. ANALYSIS [1999-2002] Present Estimate 801.28 Previous Highs 2,744.52 [Ch. Lon/05.10.99] 1,315.48 [So.Lon/08.06.00] Average 284.37 Opinion Very few works of Sarada C. Ukil have emerged on the market. This drawing definitely represents the best work to come up for public sale. Time will tell whether S.C. Ukil will command the same financial respectability as the other first batch students of Abanindranath Tagore.