Mumbai, Thursday 2 July 2009: Noted artist Tyeb Mehta died early Thursday morning at his residence in Mumbai.

The artist holds the record for the highest price an Indian painting has ever sold in a public auction.

The 84-year old artist was suffering from heart trouble. He is survived by his wife Sakhina, a son and a daughter.

His canvas at a June 2008 Christies auction fetched him his highest-ever price of $2 million.

Mehta’s canvas ‘Kali’- a dramatic, disturbing work depicting the Goddess with a gouged mouth, broke the Rs 1 crore barrier in 2005, and his ‘Celebration’ went for Rs 1.5 crore in 2002.

The artist received the Padma Bhushan in 2007.
(Agency)