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 - $55,500
The top ten works alone accounted for 80.78% of the value of the total lots sold in the auction.
This season saw Christie's put together a fascination collection of works. The works from the Keehn Family Collection were rare gems that briefly came into the market and were quickly acquired by other collectors. A total of 113 lots were on offer of which 77 (68.14%) sold. The total hammer price with buyers premium achieved was US$ 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
