A quick look at the most recent art auction scene

According to ArtTactic, 2010 had been very good for the Indian art market. It saw a remarkable recovery.” Anders Peterson, who runs the London based analysis firm, opined that the current auction scene was much like a filtered version of the art market reality, adding that the works of proven provenance were more likely to sell.

Significant art auctions at the fag end of the year 2010 had some unusual works up for grabs. Bid and Hammer offered ‘Jatayu Vadha’ by Raja Ravi Varma and a rare Nicholas Roerich work in November. The auction house wanted to promote ‘unsung heroes’, such as Allah Bux and H Mazumdar. On their 10th anniversary, Asia Art Archive hosted an auction of internationally acclaimed artists like Anju Dodiya, Reena Saini Kallat and Jitish Kallat.

The strong auction results clearly suggest a consistent demand from seasoned collectors for top quality and rare works. Indeed recession, it looks like, is finally a thing of the past as far as the art market is concerned. Average auction prices and volumes for modern Indian art were back to the June 2008 peak levels.

Castlestone Management specializing in alternative assets foresees a 40 percent increase in prices over the next couple of years. It correlates the trend to rising equity prices, terming it a key indicator for analyzing the art markets trends. Collectors are feeling more confident in the art market and have switched to chasing crisp, primary-colored modernist works, a news report by Kelly Crow (The Wall Street Journal; November 6, 2010) states – a trend starkly evident in the Indian art market, as well.

The focus is back on established modern artists, such as Gaitonde, Husain, Souza and Akbar Padamsee with ‘proven historical value’. Clearly the preference is for the Moderns although select contemporaries like Subodh Gupta, Riyas Komu and others continue to hold their sway.