(This article was first published on 7 July 2015, and has been reposted from The Quint’s archives on the birth anniversary of Tyeb Mehta.)
As a young journalist at Reuters in 2002, I remember the front page making prominent mention of an artist named Tyeb Mehta. His name was at the time new to the masses – they had heard of no one else but MF Husain. I was vaguely aware that Tyeb was part of the significant Progressive Artists Group of India, set up in 1947. But that was about it.
The brilliance of this low key artist was finally recognised by the auction market. Eventually though, we all woke up to this gem amongst us. Celebration, a large canvas triptych, became the first most expensive piece of Indian art to be auctioned at Christie’s in 2002 for $300,000.
That single event became the turning point for Indian art.