My Top Picks for SaffronArt Auction : December 12th - 13th 2011

SaffronArt Auction : December 12 - 13th 2011

Online Auction of Modern & Contemporary Indian Art

By Ashvin Rajagopalan

This edition of SaffronArt's auction sees some refreshing change in the curatorial choices of works that will be available online on December 12 - 13th 2011. The overall quality of works are extremely high, with each work exhibiting a good vintage as well as being a good representation of a particular period of the artist. There are 80 lots on offer. Dominated predominantly by the Moderns, this auction too continues to reiterate the downward trend of the Contemporary artists with only 12 Lots on offer. This auction offers an excellent chance for collectors to buy some historical works. Another point of interest with this auction is that half the lots were previously auctioned by SaffronArt.

Lot No.32

1. M F Husain, The Pull,1952, Oil on Canvas, 47.5 x 47.5 inches. This work is simply legendary. It is probably one of the earliest works by the artist available in the market today. The mute colors of this work are typical to Husain's works of the period. He was living in Bombay at the time and most of his subjects dealt with the every day hustle of the city. This work probably reflects his understanding of the labor class's struggle. This work has great provenance as it originates from the Badrivishal Pittie (Hyderabad) collection. The work is also published as a color plate in one of Husain's most definitive books. (fig.31, Husain, Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S. Kapur, 1971) This work has been earlier auctioned by SaffronArt in December 2006 for INR1,35,30,165. The estimated price this time is $250,000 - $300,000 USD. This is a fair market price, however, if there are serious bidders this work could see itself crossing the $400,000 mark.


 

Lot No.40

2. F N Souza, Man with Still Life, 1953, Oil on Board, 35.5 x 24.5 Inches. Souza's best period of work was from the 1950's - 1970's. This work is from 1953 and is a complete example of the artist's genius. There is a emotional aesthetics that is invoked by this work. The man with still life is a subject that Souza has dwelt with in later periods as well. This work is published. (Francis Newton Souza: Bridging Western and Indian Modern, Aziz Kurtha, Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 2006). The estimated value of the work is $180,000 - $220,000 USD.

Lot No.13

3. Badri Narayan, Still Life, Pastel on Paper, 21 x 29 Inches. As a self taught artist, Badri Narayan has consistently remains fresh with his works. He is very confortable with the small format but this work is one of his rarer, larger examples. This work is undated but is probably from his early body of works. A still life by Badri Narayan is very rare to come by and this piece is a great example of his use of colour, composition and form. Badri Narayan has remained consistent with the market forces and has been a regular part of all SaffronArt auctions. This work is estimated at INR 6,00,000 - 8,00,000. 

Lot No.14

4. Badri Narayan, Untitled, Watercolor on Paper,  10.5 x 9.5 Inches. Badri Narayan has always been a great story teller. This work paints the portrait of a completely happy family. This work comes highly recommended to collectors who wish to embark on a great journey into the Indian Art Scene. The work has a low estimate of INR1,00,000 - 1,50,000. This work would probably achieve an hammer price of INR 2,50,000

Lot No.2

5. M F Husain, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 35x23 Inches. This work by Husain is a solid representation of his sheer power of expression. This work has been auctioned in December 2005 by SaffronArt for INR 68,09,009 at which point this was one of the highest prices paid for a work by Husain. The work is back on offer at the same estimate of INR 60,00,000 - 70,00,000 clearly making it one of the better value buys of this auction.

Lot No.37

6. Ram Kumar, Untitled, 1967, Ink and Wax on Paper, 27.5 x 21.5 Inches. Ram Kumar has primarily been an abstractionist. However, very early on in his career he had done some figurative works mostly of vagabonds and boys. This drawing comes from that series of works. This work is a must for any collection worth its name and I am sure that this work will see some interesting bidding action. This work was auctioned in 2002 by SaffronArt for INR 7,08,000.  The estimated value is INR 8,00,000 - 10,00,000. A bid as high as INR 20,00,000 would still be a good price for this rare work.

Lot No.9

7. F N Souza, Red Landscape, 1960, Oil on Canvas, 9 x 16 Inches. This work is a little gem of a piece. It for all good reasons is almost a miniature Souza. It has every aspect of a master quality work in a small sweet dose. The lines and color are unbelievably rich. Anyone how has been wanting to buy a Souza should go for this work. The work is estimated at $20,000 - 25,000 USD. This work will attract some interesting bidding.

Lot No.61

8. S H Raza, Le Village, 1956, Oil on Canvas, 18x21.5 Inches. This work by Raza is a great early example. Raza left for France in the early 50's and was immediately taken up by French Abstractionism. The work displays a partial cubist approach to landscapes as well as an abstract break down of color. Of late there has been an availability of early Raza works in auction. This work is estimated at $90,000 - 100,000 USD 

All images are courtesy of SaffronArt.com

For more lots and details visit www.saffronart.com

Analysis of Indian Art auctions in September 2011

The September Season 

by Ashvin Rajagopalan

In September 2011 there were four major auctions of Modern & Contemporary Indian Art. Sotheby's & Christie's had floor and online auctions in New York City while SaffronArt and Asta Guru conducted online auctions based in Mumbai. This particular auction season has been watched closely by collectors, investors and promoters. The reason for its importance is because since 2008 the Indian Art market has been in a free-fall added to which a global recession tightened many purse strings and the threat of another recession in Europe just around the time of the auctions going live made situations worse. On the last day of the SaffronArt auction the Indian Rupee crashed to the US Dollar thus stopping last minute bids on works abroad. All these factors made this particular auction run a very fascinating season to analyze. The results painted a very fascinating picture for some and spelt disaster for several others. In fact, I can very reassuringly say that the future for the next couple of years lies with the Moderns and is going to be a season of introspection for the Contemporaries. 

Highlights
Sotheby's, New York, September 15th 2011
Sotheby's put together an inventory of  62 lots including both Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists. Of this, 52 were of the Moderns and only 10 were Contemporary artists. Over the last 2 seasons, the quality of artworks in the Sotheby's sales have not been of great quality. This has resulted in only 36 (58.06%) of the 62 lots acheiving a hammer price. The total hammer price inclusive of a 10% buyer's premium was US$ 1,968,250.00. Of the lots that sold only 12 lots sold above the high estimate.



Top Ten Sellers
1. Sayed Haider Raza, Eglise, Oil on Canvas, 1962 -$362,500
2. Raja Ravi Varma, Himalyan Beauty, Oil on Canvas, - $266,500
3. Jahangir Sabavala, The Cobweb Cloud, Oil on Canvas, 1973 - $266,500
4. Jadish Swaminathan, Bird, Tree, Mountain, Oil on Canvas, 1974, - $206,500
5. Maqbool Fida Husain, Man with Sitar, Oil on Canvas, - $146,500
6. Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled,  Oil on Canvas, 1987, - $74,500
7. Maqbool Fida Husain, African Man, Oil on Canvas, - $74,500
8. Maqbool Fida Husain, African Woman, Oil on Canvas, - $74,500
9. Maqbool Fida Husain, Bull, Oil on Canvas, - $62,500
10. Maqbool Fida Husain, Quebrada Del Yuro, Oil on Canvas, 1967 - $55,500

The top ten works alone accounted for 80.78% of the value of the total lots sold in the auction.

Christie's, New York, September 13th 2011
This season saw Christie's put together a fascination collection of works. The works from the Keehn Family Collection were rare gems that briefly came into the market and were quickly acquired by other collectors. A total of 113 lots were on offer of which 77 (68.14%) sold. The total hammer price with buyers premium achieved was US$ 7,375,775.00. 33 lots sold above the high estimate. In this auction 99 lots were of Modern artists while only 14 were those of the Contemporaries.




Top Ten Sellers
1. Maqbool Fida Husain, Sprinkling Horse, Oil on Canvas, - $1,142,500
2. Maqbool Fida Husain, Yatra, Oil on Canvas, 1955, - $932,500
3. Tyeb Mehta, Man Vs. Horse, Oil on Canvas, 1957, - $602,500
4. M F Husain, The Three Graces, Oil on Canvas, 1990 - $482,500
5. Ram Kumar, Boy & Goat, Oil on Canvas, 1957 - $350,500
6. M F Husain, Village Woman, Oil on Canvas, 1954, - $338,500
7. Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 1966, - $290,500
8. Maqbool Fida Husain, Horses, Oil on Canvas, 1959, - $206,500
9. Maqbool Fida Husain, Nude, Oil on Canvas, - $194,500
10. Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 1960's - $176,500

The top ten works sold accounted for 63.95% of the total value of lots sold in the auction.


A strong pattern emerges with these two auctions. Firstly and the most obvious one is that Moderns are in demand and that their prices have a stabilized price point in today's market. More strikingly is that M F Husain accounts for two thirds of all lots sold. In both auctions most works of the Contemporaries didnt sell. No work of Atul Dodiya sold this season. Some attribute that to the vast availability of his works in the primary and secondary market.


SaffronArt, Mumbai, September 21st - 22nd 2011

SaffronArt took off with a promising start. Their auctions have been consistently becoming smaller since 2008 with only 70 lots on offer this time. Forty (57.00%) of these lots achieved a hammer price. The total sale value including buyer's premium was Rs.18,81,54,164.00. Only 28 lots sold above the high estimate. Here to the majority of lots (53) belonged to the moderns leaving only 17 works by the contemporaries. On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Rupee dropped by 3 Rupees to the US Dollar thereby dampening the mood to bid on works that were on offer in USD only. The usual frenzied last minute bids were not seen this time around. Most works achieved their highest by by the afternoon itself and saw no movement till closing. Tyed Mehta's work alone contributed to 1/2 of the the total auction value. The top ten sellers contributed to 79.51% of the total sale value.

Top Ten SellersTyeb Mehta, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 1981, - 71990000.00
Sayed Haider Raza, The Village, Oil on Canvas, 1958, - 13420500.00
Sayed Haider Raza, Suryodya, Acrylic on Canvas, 2007, - 10046400.00
Maqbool Fida Husain, Devi I, Oil on Canvas, 1961, - 9660000.00
Jahangir Sabavala, The Island Seas II, Oil on Canvas, 1973 - 9228000.00
Ram Kumar, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 2004, - 8232528.00
Jahangir Sabavala, Flight of Cranes II, Oil on Canvas, 2004, - 7921200.00
Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 1980's - 7617600.00
Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled, Acrylic on Canvas, - 5934000.00
Akbar Padamsee, Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 1992, - 5562504.00