Tyeb Mehta's Rickshaw Puller Sells for ₹69.1 Crore: Auction Record Explained

Tyeb Mehta's 2002 painting Rickshaw Puller sold for ₹69.1 crore at the inaugural auction of Volte Una, a single-lot auction platform founded by Tushar Jiwarajka. GKToday reports that this is a world auction record for Mehta, beating the ₹61.80 crore paid for Trussed Bull (1956) in April 2025. The sale is complete as of 14 October 2026. Both sources were published on 13 October 2026.

Key facts at a glance

When did the sale happen?

The two sources give different dates for the sale, and the evidence does not settle which is correct.

• GKToday says the painting sold on 11 October 2026.
• The Hindu says it sold on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. Its article was published on 13 October 2026 at 1:32 pm IST.

Revising learners should note the difference and check an official or primary announcement before relying on one date. The sale itself, though, was completed on either date, before 14 October 2026.

Why the sale matters

A new benchmark for Mehta

According to GKToday, the previous auction record for a Mehta work was Trussed Bull (1956), sold for ₹61.80 crore at a Saffronart auction in Mumbai in April 2025. Rickshaw Puller at ₹69.1 crore went past that figure.

Still short of the overall Indian record

The Hindu notes that the most expensive Indian painting ever sold at auction remains Raja Ravi Varma's Yashoda and Krishna, bought for ₹167.2 crore. That is why Rickshaw Puller is described as fourth-highest, not highest.

A new auction model

The Hindu says the painting was shown through private viewings to a select group of collectors across major art hubs. It describes Volte Una's single-lot format as giving each work individual attention before bidding. Jiwarajka is quoted as saying the platform has a model that significantly reduces the traditional buyer's premium. GKToday, however, says the ₹69.1 crore price includes a 15% buyer's premium. The sources do not explain how these two points fit together, so treat the premium detail with care.

Tyeb Mehta and the artwork

The artist

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. He was associated with the Progressive Artists' Group, formed in Bombay in 1947, whose members included F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain. His work spans paintings, films and sculptures. His recurring images include the falling figure and bulls.

The painting

Rickshaw Puller was made in 2002, in the last decade of Mehta's career, using acrylic paint on canvas. GKToday says it revisits a subject he explored from the 1960s onwards. The Hindu describes the rickshaw puller as a figure he returned to in later work. Acrylic is a fast-drying paint in which pigment is suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Canvas is a woven fabric commonly used as a painting support.

What comes next

The Hindu reports that Volte Una's next auction is scheduled for the end of November and will feature a work by M.F. Husain from the Herwitz Collection. As of 14 October 2026 that event is upcoming, not completed. The sources give no exact date or price expectation.

Exam-revision pointers

• Record price: ₹69.1 crore for Rickshaw Puller (2002).
• Previous Mehta record: Trussed Bull (1956), ₹61.80 crore, April 2025.
• Progressive Artists' Group: formed in Bombay in 1947.
• Highest Indian auction price in the evidence: Raja Ravi Varma's Yashoda and Krishna, ₹167.2 crore.

These points are useful for art and culture revision. The evidence does not show that any exam will ask about this event.

Practice MCQs

Question 1

Who founded Volte Una, the platform that held the auction in which Tyeb Mehta's Rickshaw Puller sold?

1. Tushar Jiwarajka
2. F.N. Souza
3. S.H. Raza
4. M.F. Husain

Answer: Tushar Jiwarajka — both sources name him as the founder of Volte Una.

Question 2

Which earlier Tyeb Mehta work held the previous auction record, according to GKToday?

1. Rickshaw Puller (2002)
2. Trussed Bull (1956)
3. Yashoda and Krishna
4. Falling Figure

Answer: Trussed Bull (1956) — GKToday says it sold for ₹61.80 crore at a Saffronart auction in Mumbai in April 2025.

Question 3

What medium was used for Tyeb Mehta's 2002 Rickshaw Puller?

1. Oil on wood
2. Watercolour on paper
3. Acrylic on canvas
4. Bronze sculpture

Answer: Acrylic on canvas — both sources describe the 2002 work this way.

Question 4

In which year was the Progressive Artists' Group, with which Tyeb Mehta was associated, formed in Bombay?

1. 1925
2. 1947
3. 1956
4. 2002

Answer: 1947 — GKToday says the group was formed in Bombay in 1947.

Question 5

Which painting is described as the most expensive Indian painting ever sold at auction, at ₹167.2 crore?

1. Rickshaw Puller
2. Trussed Bull
3. Yashoda and Krishna
4. Herwitz Collection

Answer: Yashoda and Krishna — The Hindu says Raja Ravi Varma's painting remains the most expensive Indian painting sold at auction, at ₹167.2 crore.