A buyer’s guide to contemporary Indian paintings

WHAT A BOOM! Or was it a bubble? Like art from the mainland, paintings by Indian artists really took off in the past few years. Prior to 2001, sales at international auction houses barely touched US$600,000. By 2005, a sale at Christies alone fetched $15 million; a painting by Tyeb Mehta sold that year for $1.6 million. And in 2006 sales topped $42 million. The total sales for Indian paintings in 2008 were nearly $150 million, and last year Francis Newton Souza’s “Birth” sold for $2.5 million, a record for an Indian contemporary work.

And now the bubble has subsided: an October 2008 Sothebys sale of contemporary Asian art failed to sell 40 percent of the 47 works, including an untitled piece by Subodh Gupta, estimated at between $1.55 million and $2.05 million. Top Indian artists are still a good investment, though, and the younger generation is good value: their works are now available at a discount of 30 percent from the peak.
Here’s all you need to know to start your collection:

Why buy Indian art?
1. It’s a good investment.
The Indian venture capitalists, investment bankers, industrialists and the Silicon Valley baby boomers have become wealthy, both within the country and among the diaspora. What better status symbol than acquiring art? What better way to connect with the homeland and to express pride in one’s cultural heritage?
2. They are beautiful, thoughtful, colorful, emotional, evocative and sexual.

What is unmistakably Indian art?
Pictorial interpretations and traditions date back 4,000 years. Each generation has produced art intertwined with religion, rulers and the royal patrons of their times. During the 1,000 years under Islamic kings, beautiful miniature paintings were created, mostly reflecting the political and social life of the royals.
During 200 years of British rule, western art was encouraged. Painters like national hero Rabindranath Tagore fused traditional Asian elements with avant-garde western styles that eventually blossomed into a school of painters from Bengal.
Paintings were made as a signature of the times, or for exhibitions and installations and Bollywood billboards (where MF Husain got his start).

What are the big names among Indian painters?
Just after Independence in 1947, a group of Bombay artists formed The Progressive Artists’ Group. Its intention was to revolutionize Indian art. The six founding members were FN Souza, KH Ara, SK Bakre, HA Gade, MF Husain and SH Raza. The six associated members were VS Gaitonde, Krishen Khanna, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta, Ram Kumar and Bal Chabda.
This group was tired of existing colonial art, declaring it was too sentimental, not progressive enough and it didn’t accurately reflect the societal and cultural realities of the post-independence era. They painted within the framework of international modernism based on works by Picasso and Modigliani. They exhibited often. Their works paid homage to their European contemporaries. Each possessed dramatically different styles, from expressionism to abstraction, but the imagery and landscapes were unmistakably Indian.
All of the prices of these artists’ works have skyrocketed.
An American couple, Chester and Davida Herwitz, first put modern Indian art on the international map. Their business took them on frequent trips to the subcontinent starting in the 1960s and they amassed a collection of more than 3,000 pieces, 219 of which were auctioned off in 1995 by Sotheby’s in New York, fetching $1.2 million. Many regard that auction as the kickoff to the current boom.
Another well-known collector is the food processing tycoon Masanori Fukuoka, whose Glenbarra Art Museum in Japan exhibits 1,000-plus works of his estimated 4,000-piece collection.

Who are the contemporary artists?
There are thousands. To name a few who should be a part of your collection: MF Husain, LP Shaw, Manjit Bawa, SH Raza, Anjolie Ela Menon, Arpita Singh, Suhas Roy, Jogen Chowdhury, Jitesh Kallat.

Where do you buy Indian art?
Directly. The cheapest way is from the artists themselves. Easier said than done, though! Get them to sign your painting.At auction. Your new possession comes with a certificate of authenticity. Downside: very high commission/insurance/shipping, 25-30 percent of the total cost. (No one prepares you for the extras!)
Shop. At art galleries in India and abroad. There are too many to count, but to name a few: Saffron Art, Arts India, Bose Pacia Gallery (New York and Calcutta), Sakshi Gallery in Mumbai, Bodhi Art Gallery (Mumbai and London) and Vadehra Gallery (New Delhi and London) and Saffronart, an online gallery.
Private sales. These are often backed by gallery owners in India or the artists themselves.

What should I look out for?
Reliability. Make sure you receive the certificate of authenticity from the artist or gallery.
Recognizability. If you are buying an established artist.
Previous auction prices. All prices are influenced by how well the artist sold at past auctions.
Age of the artist. Definitely buy an ageing famous artist, as prices for his or her works are bound to rise.
Paper vs canvas. Stick with canvas as it’s more enduring.

Indian contemporary art has won international accolades for its incredible diversity, poignancy and creativity. Dive in for a piece of the action. You are not alone. Internationally, there are about 40,000 potential buyers, but only 500 serious collectors, many of whom hail from the old landed families of India. They’re all looking for a perfect blend of history, spirituality and an expression of daily life and abstract thoughts to grace their homes.