Tsuktiben Jamir
The Indian art market has witnessed a boom in the last couple years. Outlook writes, “One of the crucial aspects of this paradigm shift is structuring the art market with the emergence of reputed museums, private art galleries, and auction houses. Not only has this allowed the seasonal collectors to add to their collections consistently, but it has also facilitated a vibrant market that can cater to new collectors in terms of various price points. The extraordinary oeuvres of India’s revered modernists serve as the cornerstones of this growth.”
Today, we will explore how the art market in India has fared so far. As all of the main South Asian art auctions were held in February and March of this year, it seems like the perfect time to assess the Indian art market.
Courtesy: Mutual Art
We are hitting it off at Pundole’s auction in Mumbai that lasted from 22nd February 2023 to 23rd February 2023. The rare painting “Death of Kamsa” by Raja Ravi Varma depicts two distinct events in Krishna’s life on one panel. This great piece of art, which measures 14 by 20 inches was auctioned off at Pundole’s. His works, including all the small artworks were sold; the auction brought in some of the greatest auction prices ever seen for the artist.
Overall, the auction brought in about Rs 75 crore (about $9.4 million), mostly due to the sales of Ravi Varma’s works.
Next, we head on over to Saffronart’s auction. It goes without saying that Safronart’s most recent live auction, which concluded on March 16, 2023 in Mumbai under the title “Spring Live Auction: South Asian Contemporary Art,” was a great success. Oil on canvas by V. S. Gaitonde, “Untitled,” which was among several pieces of art auctioned, made history by being the second-most expensive piece of Indian art ever sold worldwide after going for Rs. 47.5 crores ($5.79 million). Among many notable sales, S. H. Raza’s “Rajasthan,” fetched US$1.6 million at the auction. “Untitled” by Jagdish Swaminathan (1974) brought in Rs. 2.88 crores ($351,220).
Courtesy: Saffronart India
Courtesy: Saffronart
Around Rs 80 crores, or approximately USD 9.7 million, was pulled in by the auction.
The third week of March saw the Sotheby’s auction, which featured 75 pieces totaling about USD 7 million (including premiums) or roughly Rs 57 crore. The prices for the auction’s marquee pieces by S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain far surpassed the estimates. A number of other artists, including Ram Kumar, S.K. Bakre, K.K. Hebbar, Ghulam Sheikh, Zarina, Bhupen Khakkar, Meera Mukherjee, Ganesh Haloi, Mohan Samant and Sohan Qadri, all fared well at the auction, outperforming expected estimates.
The largest (by lot size) sale of South Asian art during the spring was held by AstaGuru in Mumbai, where 199 lots were sold. Together with a number of contemporary artists, it included early 19th-century artists. In comparison to other auctions, the entire auction’s sale prices came to Rs 24+cr (about $3 million).
As is clear, the Indian art market seems to be on a rollercoaster that keeps going up; this is a good sign for all art makers as well as lovers, and is proof of the richness of Indian art, both old and modern. This stands true to fact that art will always hold an important place in society.
