Sotheby’s is unfurling a comprehensive sale of Indian modern and contemporary art in London in early May. The auction sports an overall estimate of around £2.4 million and will see some 120 lots go under the hammer.This sale follows the New York auction in March, spurred by the “ever-growing interest in and rising profile of Indian art on the international stage.”The selection of works will trace the course of Indian art over the past century encompassing important works by key figures of the modern Indian art movement such as FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee through to cutting-edge contemporary names like Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Jitish Kallat.The sale will also feature 11 rare works from the exquisite collection of William and Mildred Archer, two remarkable scholars who played a crucial role in bringing Indian art to the vanguard in this field. The Archer collection includes paintings by Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy, George Keyt and Avinash Chandra.In an email to ET from London, the director and head of Indian art at Sotheby’s, Zara Porter-Hill said, “The international focus on India and Indian art continues to gather momentum and the contemporary scene, in particular, is really flourishing. We are delighted to respond to this spotlight and surging demand by bringing a first-class cross-section of modern and contemporary Indian works to the saleroom this May. The sale’s highlights will be considerable; exciting and innovative contemporary works from the likes of Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Jitish Kallat. In tandem, there are major examples from frontline figures of the modern movement like FN Souza and extraordinary works, with superlative provenance, from the collection of William and Mildred Archer.”The most valuable lot in the sale is by the famed modernist FN Souza, titled The Red Road. It boasts of a £250,000-350,000 presale estimate.“The canvas was a gift from Souza to his wife Maria in 1962, a period widely acknowledged as the artist’s most successful, and it was later bequeathed by Maria to the present owner. The painting was exhibited at the Hayward Gallery in 1989,” Ms Porter-Hill said.Two important Padamsee works are also on sale in the modern section. An untitled nude, dated 956, is estimated at £150,000-200,000 and is being sold by a European collector. An untitled landscape by the artist is pegged in the range of £150,000-250,000.Figuring among the contemporary works is a Subodh Gupta untitled oil on canvas, created in 2005, which sports an estimate of £70,000-100,000. At the same time, Bharti Kher’s Missing is placed in the bracket of £30,000-40,000, while Jitish Kallat’s Humiliation Tax II is priced at £25,000-35,000.Another contemporary highlight is a ‘striking’ diptych by Thukral & Tagra, called Stop Think Go, which has been priced in the band of £30,000-40,000.