Saffronart’s Winter Online Auction 2009 – artmarketblog.com

Saffronart’s Winter Online Auction 2009

Modern and Contemporary Indian Art

December 9-10, 2009

· 100 works of art by 51 Modern and Contemporary Indian artists with a total low to high estimate of approximately Rs. 15 crores (US$ 3.2 million) to Rs. 19.4 crores (US$ 4.2 million)

· Attractively estimated works by renowned modernists and popular contemporary artists, of exceptional provenance and quality

· Auction highlights include important modern works by Manjit Bawa, F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta and Jagdish Swaminathan

· Prominent contemporary artists featured in the sale include Subodh Gupta, Anju Dodiya, Raqib Shaw and Jagannath Panda

Mumbai, November 27, 2009: Saffronart, India’s leading auction house for Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, will host its annual Winter Online Art Auction on December 9-10, 2009. Presenting 100 lots of exceptional quality and provenance by 51 leading modern and contemporary Indian artists, the sale will take place online at http://www.saffronart.com.

The auction catalogue includes paintings, drawings and sculptures by celebrated modern artists Manjit Bawa, F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Tyeb Mehta and Jagdish Swaminathan among others. Notable contemporary artists in the sale are Subodh Gupta, Anju Dodiya, Raqib Shaw and Jagannath Panda among others. With a strong focus on aesthetically significant works, this sale promises to generate great interest and demand from collectors across the globe.

Featured on the front cover of the catalogue, is an untitled canvas of epic proportions by Manjit Bawa. The artist’s men, women, gods and animals, suspended wondrously in colourful space, are rendered with a simple fluidity that borders on the abstract. Rather than brushstroke and texture, Bawa relies on chiaroscuro and subtle shading to deliver depth to his canvases; and rather than developing a narrative, the artist focuses on perfecting form by paring it down to its most basic essence. Together, these characteristics give the artist’s paintings an arresting luminosity, and his characters a dreamlike presence.

Another important lot is Jagdish Swaminathan’s untitled canvas from 1975, which was formerly in the collection of World Bank director William Diamond. Swaminathan, in his quest for this new modernist ‘Indian’ vocabulary, turned to the local, exploring not only the folk art of varied regions, but also the historically significant miniature traditions of North-Western India. The Bird, Tree, Mountain series of canvases, to which this lot belongs, stands testimony to his attempts at instituting a new idiom for modern Indian art, and is inspired by both the simplicity of Indian folk art, and the intensity of Indian miniatures.

Among the contemporary lots on offer, Subodh Gupta’s 2005 untitled work, a shimmering theatre of polished stainless steel pots and pans, is featured on the back cover of the catalogue. Gupta’s main concerns have been subjective value and material production and consumption. In charting and presenting India’s unique developmental path, the artist creatively draws attention to the present interdigitation of tradition and modernity in the country, and the distinct social realities that emerge from this interface. In doing so, Gupta effectively communicates the impossibility of capturing the intricacies of the developing world through a developed world lens.

Featuring for the first time at a Saffronart auction is Raqib Shaw, whose work has been celebrated in prestigious solo exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Tate Britain in London. Drawing from various disciplines including literature, zoology and art history, Raqib Shaw’s body of work is a dizzying amalgamation of influences, including the work of old Masters like Bosch, Holbein and Piranesi, Mughal miniatures, the Romantic works of Wordsworth, Byron and Coleridge, Japanese decorative arts, Kashmiri shawls, and various specimens and images drawn from natural history museums, medical journals and popular culture, to name only a few.

Speaking about the auction, Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and Co-founder of Saffronart said, “The success of our recent auctions has proved that collectors around the globe continue to show great demand for rare and exceptional works with impressive quality and impeccable provenance, which this auction offers. Strong results, record prices, and increased international interest illustrate that there is renewed strength in the market as a whole. It is on this positive note that we look forward to strong interest in this auction.”

The total lower and higher estimates for this auction are Rs. 15 crores (US$ 3.2 million) and Rs. 19.4 crores (US$ 4.2 million) respectively. The sale will be accompanied by an illustrated print catalogue, also available online at http://www.saffronart.com, and preview events at Saffronart’s gallery spaces in Mumbai and New York.

Highlights from Saffronart’s Winter Online Auction 2009:

Manjit Bawa
Untitled
Rs. 70,00,000 – 90,00,000
$ 152,175 – 195,655

F.N. Souza
Mr. Sebastian (1956)
Rs. 55,20,000 – 82,80,000
$ 120,000 – 180,000

Subodh Gupta
Untitled (2005)
Rs. 70,00,000 – 90,00,000
$ 152,175 – 195,655

Akbar Padamsee
Untitled (2007)
Rs. 45,00,000 – 55,00,000
$ 97,830 – 119,570

About Saffronart

A global company with deep Indian roots, Saffronart was founded in 2000 on the strength of a private passion. Remaining committed to this passion and personal values, today Saffronart is a strong and successful international business that both embraces and drives change.

A pioneer of online art auctions, Saffronart has set global pricing benchmarks and transformed the landscape of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, making it accessible to connoisseurs and collectors around the world. Its robust online auction platform and secure technology offers a personal, intuitive and effortless bidding and buying experience for clients.

With its online presence, and offices in Mumbai, New York and London, Saffronart has broadened and simplified access to Indian art and jewelry. Responding to the needs of today’s collectors, Saffronart also offers services such as art advisory, private sales, appraisals and valuations, and specialized art storage.

For further details on the auction, please contact:

India: Punya Nagpal, Nishad Avari or Dhanashree Waikar

Tel: (91 22) 2432 2898 / 2436 4113 or Email: auction@saffronart.com

USA: Anu Nanavati Chaddha

Tel: (212) 627 5006 or Email: newyork@saffronart.com

UK: Abha Housego

Tel: 44 (0) 20 7409 7974 or Email: london@saffronart.com

Media Contact: Malika Bhavnani, CMCG India Pvt. Ltd.

Tel: (91-22) 24450991/2/3, (91) 9820496099 or malika.bhavnani@cmcgindia.com

Indian Classical Art Set to Soar – artmarketblog.com

Indian Classical Art Set to Soar – artmarketblog.com

I am really looking forward to seeing the new “Maharaja: the Splendour of India’s Royal Courts” exhibition which will be opening at the Victoria and Albert museum in London on the 10th of October. According to the V&A website “The heyday of the maharajas began in earnest after the collapse of the Mughal empire in the early 18th century. The exhibition will open with this period of chaos and adventure and will close at the end of British rule in 1947, when Indian princes acceded their territories into the modern states of India and Pakistan.”

Although it may not seem that exciting, this exhibition is a very important exhibition in my opinion because of the extent to which historic Indian works of art are undervalued. One of the reasons for this is the lack of cultural sector infrastructure in India which means that there is relatively little scholarly or curatorial attention paid to the works of the 18th and 19th centuries. In particular, the work of 18th century Indian artists is particularly impressive and is very highly valued because of the significant events that happened at this time that were important to the history of India. With so many wealthy people in India who are becoming more interested in fine art and cultural objects, I believe that it is inevitable that the value of classical works of art and other objects that have cultural and historical significant will increase in value very shortly.

Although a number of Indian billionaires have had their wealth decreased by the financial crisis (until last year India had the highest number of billionaires in Asia), there are still 24 Billionaires in India according to Forbes magazine (March 2009), which gives India the 6th highest number of Billionaires – only 4 billionaires behind China and two spots on the list. India was ahead of China in the 2008 rankings when they had 54 billionaires but is now behind them due to the financial crisis but the outlook for Indian’s economy is very good and is even tipped to overtake the Chinese economy.

In relation to the art market, I think that a comparison between China and India is very relevant. Both countries have a rich cultural history, and both countries are experiencing an increase in new wealth which has given more people the means to indulge their passion for fine art and cultural objects. The art market boom showed that a major increase in the number of wealthy people in a certain country usually results in what is essentially a buy back of that countries historic and cultural artefacts from abroad. This happened with Russia, Japan, China and is sure to happen with India.

Althought the market for contemporary Indian art has been hit particularly hard by the financial crisis combined with the lack of patronanage as well as the lack of curatorial and scholarly attention given to India’s contemporary artists, the work of the well known modern Indian masters has faired remarkably well. There is obviously still a considerable amount of wealth in India that is available to be spent but as with other art markets around the world, buyers are being much more discerning and careful with their money in light of recent events. Works of art that are seen to have cultural and historic value have the characteristics (stability and justifiable value) that buyers are looking for at the moment.

My big tip for 2010 is that Indian classical art will increase in value considerably so my advice is to take advantage of the very low prices that such works are being offered for at the moment.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

Osian’s Art Fund Emerges as High Yielding Asset Class in Global Meltdown – artmarketblog.com

Osian’s Art Fund Emerges as High Yielding Asset Class in Global Meltdown – artmarketblog.com

Osian’s, today presented the 5th Six Monthly Disclosure Report (10 July 2008 – 9 January 2009) on behalf of the privately placed closed-ended Osian’s Art Fund (OAF). The Report establishes that the Osian’s Art Fund is one of the few investments providing a positive rate of return, more than 10.59% CAGR (post taxes) over the last 30 months, holding its own with relative stability, during the worse financial meltdown in global history.

In the current scenario, while Gold has emerged as the highest yielding asset class providing over 12.47% CAGR, followed by Debt Fund at 10.98% CAGR, the Osian’s Art Fund is only marginally behind (refer Attachment 1). The credibility of well managed, high quality art as an asset, for serious institutional investments, has now clearly emerged.

Mr. Neville Tuli, Founder-Chairman, Osian’s, said, “Today, we are close to achieving our first integrated global platform whereby the dual responsibilities of building great knowledge bases hand in hand with creating systematic wealth can be united on sustainable, accountable and transparent platforms. It will always be work in progress but the proximity of the bridge-building exercise is now clear for most to see.”

The Osian’s Art Fund, set up under the Indian Trusts Act, launched its first privately placed scheme Contemporary-1 on 10 July 2006, raising a corpus of Rs. 102.4 Cr. The Fund, a close-ended scheme with a lock in period of 36 months was open to investors only by private placement and the minimum investment was Rs.10 lac and then in multiples of Rs.5 lac.

The Fund attracted 656 investors from all over India. The top 10 cities from which the highest Osian’s client response was received were Delhi NCR (31.4%) followed by Mumbai (27.1), Kolkata (10.2%), Bangalore (8.8%), Chennai (7.9%), Hyderabad (3.9%), Surat (2.2%), Baroda (1.7%), Pune (0.9%) & Ahmedabad (0.8%). In totality, the Osian’s client base extended to 39 towns & cities, showing the national scale reach and interest. Out of the total number of investors about 82.72% had ventured into the area of investment in art for the very first time, though they were aware of Osian’s as an Auction House and Archive. Also, out of the total number of investors, 82.75% are individuals, 10.07 % are corporates and 7.18% are firms.

The Fund (as on 9 Jan 2009) has invested in a number of artists with a very well diversified portfolio based on their historical significance. These include the Progressive Artists Group (PAG) (20.92%), a Focus on Abstraction (17.20%), Calcutta Group & Painters (16.74%), a Figurative Focus (non PAG) (15.22%), Contemporary Art (8.33%), a Figurative Focus (Bengal) (6.17%), Cholamandal Artists (4.05%), a Figurative Focus (Delhi) (2.96%), Sculpture (2.78%), National Art Treasures (1.54%), Baroda School (1.11%) and Others (2.97%) (refer Attachment 2) V.S. Gaitonde, M.F. Husain & Akbar Padamsee are the three leading artists with the largest allocation.

High quality Indian art is more and more being seen as a credible asset, with many advantages over other assets. The Auction Sales turnover has taken a great leap from INR 133 millions in 1999 to INR 5527 millions in 2008, having achieved a growth of 51.26% CAGR.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Indian Art Auction Sets Benchmark – artmarketblog.com

Indian Art Auction Sets Benchmark – artmarketblog.com

If you need evidence that the interest in Indian art is far from a short term fad then look no further than the results of the Saffronart (http://www.saffronart.com) Spring 2008 auction results which was held from the 18th-19th June. 140 works by 67 modern artists went under the hammer in an online auction that allowed collectors and investors from all over the world to bid on works by some of India’s most famous artists such as Gupta, Raza, Chowdry, Souza, Santosh, Narayan and many others. As the one of the world’s top sources for high quality Indian art, Saffronart auction results can be viewed as being indicative of the current taste and developing trends in Indian art. Not only did the auction exceed the lower estimate total of INR 27 Cr. (approx US$6.3 million) but a new auction record was set for Subodh Gupta whose untitled painting that features images of tin cans, pots and other metal kitchen utensils fetched INR $57,100,000 (us$1,427,500) against an estimate of INR $8,000,000 -10,00,000 (US$200,000-$250,000). The new Gupta record came only a week after Christies sale of contemporary Indian art in London sold an untitled installation of steel pots by Gupta for a then record price of US$1.2 million dollars which exceeded the previous month’s auction record of just under US$1.2 million again achieved at a Christies auction in Hong Kong. Auction results such as those available from Saffronart are a great way of identifying which artists, styles and mediums and are extremely useful for tracking the progression of the market for a particular artist’s work.

Other notable results from the Saffronart Spring auction included:
Francis Newton Souza
Untitled
1964
Oil on Board
Estimate
$100,000 – 125,000
Rs 40,00,000 – 50,00,000

Winning Bid
$232,300
Rs 92,92,000
(Inclusive of Buyer’s Premium)

J Swaminathan
Untitled
Oil on Canvas
Estimate
$175,000 – 225,000
Rs 70,00,000 – 90,00,000

Winning Bid
$460,000
Rs 1,84,00,000
(Inclusive of Buyer’s Premium)

Bose Krishnamachari
Plot
2005
Acrylic and oil on Canvas
Estimate
$35,000 – 40,000
Rs 14,00,000 – 16,00,000

Winning Bid
$86,825
Rs 34,73,000
(Inclusive of Buyer’s Premium)

Rashid Rana
Red Carpet – 2
2007
C Print + DIASEC
Estimate
$70,000 – 90,000
Rs 28,00,000 – 36,00,000

Winning Bid
$500,250
Rs 2,00,10,000
(Inclusive of Buyer’s Premium)

Francis Newton Souza
Untitled
1961
Oil on Canvas
Estimate
$100,000 – 125,000
Rs 40,00,000 – 50,00,000

Winning Bid
$408,250
Rs 1,63,30,000
(Inclusive of Buyer’s Premium)

For more results and further information check out
http://www.saffronart.com/auctions/auctionresults.aspx?eid=3141
(you may need to register to view results)

Image: “Untitled” by Subodh Gupta

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Using Logic to Beat the Art Market – artmarketblog.com

Using Logic to Beat the Art Market – artmarketblog.com

Making predictions regarding the art market or the value of an artist’s work is always going to be a difficult task but there are certain instances where one can make an educated guess based on common sense, logic and historical data. By analysing artist’s careers, different country’s art markets or the history of the art market as a whole it is often possible to identify a recurring series of events that continually occur in the same sequence or have resulted in the same outcome.

As with pretty much all investment markets, there are plenty of instances where a logical cause and effect scenario can be identified. Take, for instance, the Indian art market, which has recently experienced a major evolution fueled by increased wealth in the country and an increasing participation in, acceptance of, and correlation to, the western art world as a result of the globalisation of the art market. Although the Indian art market is modernising and westernising at a rapid rate there is still a long way to go before Indian art collectors and investors are as open minded and worldly as many western art collectors and investors. Modern installation works, sculptural works and conceptual works have until recently been an almost completely foreign concept for the Indian art market with the traditional paint on canvas being the most widely accepted and recognised medium. Because of the popularity of paintings, Indian art buyers are less inclined to purchase a work of art that is not a painting unless the artist has already gained acceptance and recognition as an accomplished painter. What has been happening in India is artists who have started their career working in mediums other than painting have not been accepted by the Indian art market yet artists who establish their career as a painter first are able to successfully move into other mediums once the market is comfortable and familiar with their paintings.

Because of this trend there is an opportunity to purchase works of art in mediums other than painting by Indian artists whose work may have been overlooked and undervalued due to the fact that they have not conformed to the traditional tastes of the Indian art world. If an artist’s works are considered to be too “modern” or “unconventional” in India, chances are the western art market would be extremely interested in them. There might also be the opportunity to purchase an undervalued work of art by an artist who was working in a medium other than painting but is going to move into painting into the future thus potentially increasing their value as an artist.

Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of common sense and logic to uncover potential opportunities to profit from art.

Image: Bosedkdesigns.com installation by Indian artists Thukral and Tagra

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.