New Delhi, April 13 -- New Delhi,

Mumbai :

Vaccine king Cyrus Poonawalla bagged Raja Ravi Varma's Yashoda & Krishna with a Rs.167.2 crore bid on 1 April, setting a new record and proving that modern Indian art retains its shine even in the backdrop of uncertainty and war.

The auction of the late-19th-century oil painting demolished the previous record set by MF Husain's Untitled (Gram Yatra) last year, when it was sold to philanthropist Kiran Nadar for about Rs.118 crore. The sale, conducted by Mumbai-based auction house Saffronart, reflected the current dynamics of the art market, where competitive buying has remained resilient, with collectors increasingly treating art as an appreciating asset alongside real estate and precious metal...