Tyeb Mehta’s Rickshaw Puller Sets Auction Record at ₹69.1 Crore

Tyeb Mehta’s 2002 acrylic-on-canvas painting Rickshaw Puller sold for ₹69.1 crore at auction on 11 October 2026. The price, which includes a 15% buyer’s premium, set a world auction record for the Indian artist.

The Auction and Record

The sale took place at the inaugural auction of Volte Una, an auction house founded by Tushar Jiwarajka. The auction used a single-lot format, offering one major artwork at a time. The previous auction record for a Mehta work was held by Trussed Bull (1956), which sold for ₹61.80 crore at a Saffronart auction in Mumbai in April 2025. Rickshaw Puller is the fourth-highest-priced Indian artwork ever sold at auction in rupee terms.

Tyeb Mehta and His Art

Tyeb Mehta was born in 1925 in Kapadvanj, Gujarat, and died in Mumbai in 2009. He studied at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai and was associated with the Progressive Artists’ Group, formed in Bombay in 1947. The group included Indian modernists such as F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain. Mehta’s works include paintings, films and sculptures, and his subjects include figures, animals and scenes from urban life.

Recurring Subject and Medium

Rickshaw Puller revisits a subject Mehta explored from the 1960s onwards. The painting was made in 2002 using acrylic paint on canvas. Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint in which pigment is suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Canvas is a woven fabric commonly used as a support for paintings. Mehta’s body of work also includes the recurring image of the falling figure and paintings featuring bulls.

Important Facts for Exams

• Tyeb Mehta was an Indian modern artist born in 1925 and died in 2009.
• The Progressive Artists’ Group was formed in Bombay in 1947.
• Trussed Bull was painted in 1956 and sold for ₹61.80 crore in April 2025.
• The ₹69.1 crore price for Rickshaw Puller includes a 15% buyer’s premium.

Volte Una held its inaugural auction on 11 October 2026. Rickshaw Puller was painted in 2002 and is an acrylic-on-canvas work.