Zainul Abedin's Painting Sold For Record $381 000

Two paintings by renowned Bangladeshi artist Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin were recently sold at a record price at an auction in New York, BBC Bangla reports. Last week, the prestigious auction house Sotheby's hosted an auction named "Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art" in New York, where Zainul's two masterpieces were sold on March 18, BBC Bangla further reports.

Of the paintings, one titled "Santal Couple" brought in $381,000 USD, equivalent to over Tk 41.7 million (Tk 417 lakh 6 thousand 500), according to the report. Art connoisseurs were quoted as saying that this is the highest price achieved by a Bangladeshi artist's work.

Citing information on Sotheby's website, BBC Bangla further reports that Zainul’s "Santal Couple" was initially estimated to be valued between 100,000 and 150,000 US dollars.

Another piece sold at the auction is an oil painting depicting a seated woman, according to the report. 

Zainul's oil painting was sold for 279,400 US dollars, which is equivalent to Tk 30.5 million (3 crore 5 lakh 84 thousand 767), and it was initially estimated to be valued between 80,000 and 120,000 US dollars, according to information on Sotheby's website. 

Art connoisseurs were also quoted as saying these two paintings are among the most expensive of Zainul's artworks ever sold.