Vagaries of Indian art collection scene

Most records and major noteworthy sales in recent years have involved works by the Progressive artists and their associates, like Tyeb Mehta, MF Husain, Akbar Padamsee, and Jehangir Sabavala. Serious collectors start wisely with them, but when they tend to underplay the focus on other important artists they collect, it is rather detrimental to their valuations.

Sadly, between the Progressive artists and the more recent contemporaries like, Atul Dodiya, Bharati Kher, Subodh Gupta, Manjunath Kamath, and Riyas Komu, there seems to be a ‘lost generation’ that is less celebrated than the attention-grabbing Progressives. Making his point, art expert Kishore Singh had notes in one of his essays in The Business Standard:

“Though the contemporaries tend to grab more eyeballs, can one recall their buyers? A general belief is that the works by contemporary artists end up in either in institutions or museums that rob them of the intimacy people-led or ‘personal’ buys can evoke. It does little towards generating the much-needed competitive spirit among collectors.”

Collectors looking for contemporaries shrewdly perhaps base their worth on attractive bargain values today, which have the potential to become tomorrow’s masterpieces. In this, they apparently follow the artists often being promoted by the world-renowned collector, Charles Saatchi.

As is widely known, the London-based famed advertising guru has turned his passion for art into a public frenzy. Every time he opts to buy a particular artist, or supports one, new markets and price highs are made. Sadly, the process goes the other way, too. So every time he decides to dump an artist’s work, his or her prices inevitably fall. Perhaps India needs its very own Saatchi.

At a broader level, there can be a debate over the fact whether Indian collectors and their passion for art fails to draw requisite media attention. But a positive change is definitely taking place in this regard. A case in point is the wide media coverage last year to a display of renowned art patron Jehangir Nicholson’s comprehensive collection.