Need to be cautious before we turn euphoric

If Sotheby’s and Christie’s Indian art auction results in New York conducted in March were heartwarming, then their outcome in London in June were nothing short of astounding. A painting by Modernist Progressive SH Raza, entitled ‘Saurashtra’ (79 x 79 inch) went at Christie’s for a whopping £2.4 million (nearly Rs. 17 crore). It broke the earlier record by a wide margin – by almost double, signifying the change in mood.

The work, undoubtedly among the finest ones by the Master, set a new price benchmark by which all upcoming results will obviously be measured. In all, Christie’s managed to better their auction results by nearly ten times from the same month last year, whereas Sotheby’s almost tripled theirs. Raza, and his counterpart Progressive Modernist artists, such as Tyeb Mehta, VS Gaitonde, MF Husain and FN Souza are in demand all over again.

As a result, a renewed buying & selling frenzy is about to be witnessed in the art market. Summing up the scenario and also sounding a word of caution, art writer Sharmistha Ray mentions in an ET Bureau report:

“We should be unequivocal in our celebrations; the recession seems like a distant memory, if not erased completely. But if ever we needed the voice of reason, it’s now. Somewhere from a silent corner, it begs an all too familiar question: is it all happening too soon? A shallow market is much more susceptible to predatory speculation. We should have learned this lesson well by now. On a more positive note, the auction houses are delivering auctions that focus on content much more than ever before, even if the primary markets remain comparatively sluggish.”

In essence, elated speculators are back sniffing again and everything perhaps looks a bit hunky dory, at least on paper. So we need to watch out before we turn euphoric again!