Christies - DUBAI

Prices for Indian contemporary art are picking up where they left off last year, as Christie’s held the first major sale of the year, February 1, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. If the results are indicative of things to come, 2007 could be another rosy year indeed for collectors of this genre.

The sale began with works by artists from the Middle East, until the 61 lots of Indian modern and contemporary art were offered up to buyers approximately halfway through. Generally, the wait was worth it, as the anticipation eased among art market watchers as most of the pieces sold at or above their pre-sale estimates.

Two Jamini Roy watercolors started this portion of the auction, and, as they did in 2006, performed quite well, selling for $24,000 and $26,400 USD* respectively, doubling expectations. Works followed by the senior artists, and likewise, continued the recent sales trend. S. H. Raza’s Lumiere d’Ete fell for $204,000, M. F. Husain’s Untitled (Peasant Woman) for $144,000, an untitled Akbar Padamsee oil on canvas for $168,000, and an untitled Ram Kumar for $329,600.

The highest closing bid was for a Husain, whose popularity seems not to have waned—his Untitled (Woman and Horses) went for $441,600, his Untitled (Saraswati) for $180,000; also selling above their estimates were Raza’s Rajput House for $307,200, an untitled Jagdish Swaminathan for $240,000, Rameshwar Broota’s That Common Story for $156,000 and an F. N. Souza landscape for $114,000. Another Souza fell within the estimate range and sold for $144,000. (One of his paintings was passed, as were two works by Ram Kumar, a K. H. Ara, and an Anjolie Ela Menon).

In what may be a development to keep one’s eyes on this year, is the market for Indian artists of the “second tier”, many whose works on this day surpassed expectations. B. Prabha’s 2 Girls commanded a respectable $66,000, an untitled painting for $60,000, her Fishergirl $45,600. Others to watch may include Avinash Chandra, whose two untitled watercolors sold for double their estimates, Velu Vishwanadhan, whose untitled casein on canvas went for $26,400—triple the estimate, Ganesh Pyne’s tempera on canvas The Gate, which sold for $72,000, and an untitled self-portrait by Anju Dodiya for $33,600. Also “hot” right now—if the results of Christie’ Dubai hold true—are works by Jayashree Chakravarty and Justin Ponmany.

The 193 lots up for bid (including the Middle East works) brought in a final tally of $9,417,560.

Will the selling power of Indian contemporary art sustain itself in the coming months? Time will tell as spring auctions at Christie’s New York (March 21st), Sotheby’s New York (March 22nd), and Bonham‘s London (May 21st) will soon bloom forth.
-Sri