The transformative moment for me was not the Renaissance or the encounter with Rembrandt in college or the Dutch masters or the Impressionists, but the Bauhaus school of architecture. It was what introduced me to Modernism and it's the reason why I find Tyeb Mehta fascinating," says Gurcharan Das.

Renowned widely as an intellectual and a prolific writer based out of New Delhi, there is a lesser-known side to Das, the art connoisseur. In an upcoming sale of South Asian modern and contemporary art by Christie's, to be held in New York next month, one of the highest estimates is for a painting by Tyeb Mehta from Das' collection. Painted in 1975, the piece is titled Diagonal XV. The Diagonal series marked Mehta's maturity as an artist by putting form above content.