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India’s art scenario getting more vibrant

A few years ago, it suddenly became a rage among the affluent in India to buy expensive art works. Many bought it for the sheer pleasure that the paintings gave them, but there were quite a few who invested in the works of great contemporary artists, hoping that they would make a neat profit in a few years.

The artificial hype created around art works burst rather quickly and many of the speculators, having burnt their fingers, are out of the circuit now. Fortunately, the art market in India has matured a great deal since then. The art scenario is getting more vibrant now — there is the Kochi Biennale, which attracts a lot of interest, there are art fairs, and there is the Christie’s auction.

The second Christie’s auction, held last week in Mumbai, was a success, fetching $12.09 million; 90 per cent of the works were sold by lot and 97 per cent by value. This is the highest total for any auction of modern and contemporary Indian Art this year. Christie’s has been organising international sales of Indian art in cities including New York, London and Mumbai. For the Mumbai auction, it held pre-sale events in New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai, attracting many collectors and interest from new and existing clients.

“The results are an indication of the strong level of interest from clients who wish to buy exceptional works,” remarked Sonal Singh, head of department, Christie’s Mumbai. “The auction was sold 97 per cent by value, mirroring the results from our inaugural sale in India.”

Clients were present at the auction room as well as online and buyers were from India, other parts of Asia, the US and Europe. The most sought-after painting was bought by a private buyer in the US, who paid a whopping $2.81 million - way above the estimate - for an untitled work by the late Tyeb Mehta.

Two other works by contemporary artists sold for more than a million dollars each — an untitled 1947 work by Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002) for almost $1.45 million, and an untitled work by Vasudeo Gaitonde (1924-2001) for $1.06 million.

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s pocket book was sold at four times its estimate at $331,325. Singh says it was the highest price for a manuscript sold in India.

For the UK-based auction house, 2014 marks the 20th year of its presence in India. Its inaugural sale in 2013 set the highest price for a work of art ever sold in India and the total sale amounted to $15.45 million, double the pre-sale expectations. — nithin@khaleejtimes.com