Ganesh Pyne Leads Record Haul As Christie’s Nets Rs 2.40 bn From Single Collection

Christie’s sold all 93 lots from the Goodricke (Camellia) Collection in London, realising £18.91m and setting 17 auction records. Ganesh Pyne led the haul, with standout results amid strong demand.

Christie’s London sale of Goodricke (Camellia) collection nets £18.91m, 17 records.

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Christie's London sale set new South Asian art record.
• Goodricke Collection's 93 lots sold, setting 17 artist records.
• Leading artists achieved records, boosting South Asian art market.
• Auction marked Christie's seven-year return for South Asian art.

Christie’s staged a rare, single-owner sale in London that realised £18.91 million, setting a new benchmark for South Asian modern art in the city. All 93 lots from the Goodricke, also called the Camellia Collection, were snapped up, many exceeding their estimates and producing 17 artist records. The assemblage, built in the 1990s and 2000s with a focus on Bengal and wider South Asian art, featured a strong core of Ganesh Pyne works alongside pieces by Abindranath Tagore, Meera Mukherjee, and K.K. Hebbar. The sale returned Christie’s to London after a seven-year break for South Asian modern offerings.

 Goodricke (Camellia) Collection - Overview

 The Goodricke Collection, assembled over two decades by interests linked to Camellia plc and Goodricke Group, focuses on Bengal and South Asian modern art. Christie’s offered all 93 lots in London, selling every work and surpassing expectations across the board.

The auction produced a hammer total of £18.91 million, the highest for Christie’s South Asian modern sales in London. Seventeen artists set new auction records, with many lots selling multiple times above their estimates. Ganesh Pyne’s temperas and mixed-media pieces anchored the sale, including a tempera that reached £3.8m. A work of art by Abindranath Tagore, depicting Mahatma Gandhi, set a record for the artist, selling well beyond its modest estimate.

The results reflect growing international appetite for Indian and South Asian modern art, with collectors bidding aggressively beyond the usual Progressive Group names that usually dominate top sales. The collection originated from corporate art purchases tied to tea estates and the Camellia/Goodricke corporate lineage. Management changes and a strategic shift toward core assets led to the decision to consign the works at Christie’s.

Notable Artists And Prices

Sculptor Meera Mukherjee, K.K. Hebbar, Arpana Caur, and others achieved new highs, with several smaller works also exceeding low estimates by wide margins, underscoring broad buyer interest across categories.
The collection has been documented and published, most notably a monograph on Ganesh Pyne linked to the Goodricke archive, and images appeared in company publications, adding context and provenance for bidders.

The single-owner dispersal of the Goodricke (Camellia) Collection underlined both the depth of Bengal’s modern art legacy and the strength of the market for South Asian works. With all lots sold and multiple records set, the auction marked a significant moment for collectors, institutions, and the artists’ reputations.