Art, the great new investment option

Sceptics doubted it, but here's confirmation that seven auctions of Indian art notched up sales equivalent to Rs 220 crore (Rs 2.20 billion) this month alone  --  one in India, two online, and four in London and New York. And that's not counting gallery sales in India and abroad.

"Indian art worth Rs 1,100-1,200 crore (Rs 11-12 billion) will have been traded by the end of this year," says Ashish Anand of the Delhi Art Gallery, and though this is still a minuscule percentage of global art, it's no longer to be sneered at.

In fact, the happy thing about art collecting is that you can enjoy being surrounded by works you admire even as their value multiplies.

"Art has always been a valuable resource, so why have Indians been sceptical about it?" asks a puzzled Neville Tuli of Osian's. It's just that there has been a perceptible shift from extraordinary works from our past  --  Chola bronzes, carved ivory (now banned), rare textiles, miniature paintings  --  to modern and contemporary art, and it is here that there has been a spurt of economic activity that is propelling the excitement.

"Today's trigger is economics," confirms Tuli, "tomorrow it could be educational. It's all part of the process with indications for a major boom." Really? "For now, less than 1 per cent of the Indian population understands art," he says, "when they start understanding it better, bang!"

September was actually key to understanding the art market from the point of view of collectors who had started getting jittery about the way prices had been spiralling. Though no new records were created at all seven sales, it is interesting that the price index for individual artists stabilised at higher averages than before.

"The New York auctions in particular showed surprising strength even though there were so many lots," said a spokesperson for Bodhi Art Gallery, which has consolidated its position in NYC with a permanent gallery there. "They did better than I expected."

So, if you're either a collector, or an investor in art, here are some interesting trends that have emerged from these auctions that should be a pointer to the manner in which art prices and collectibles are likely to move over the next few months.

• Such sales are going to be rarer. Most of the big collections have already entered the auction space and many have found buyers in strong collectors or as institutional investment. As a result, fewer works by the masters will be seen in the market, and prices could consolidate further.
• "Collectors are no longer looking at an Indian context," points out Tuli. If your spends are $1 million or more, it isn't just the F N Souzas or S H Razas or Tyeb Mehtas you'd be looking at, but the international line-up of artists whose smaller works would fit well into that budget.
• By that same measure, non-Indians are starting to pick up Indian art. "The Souza that got the highest price at the Sotheby's sale was a Chinese collector," says Ashish Anand. That means global prices are entering the art market, so if you have to buy, do it now.
• This one's critical: paintings entering the secondary market should be handled by auctioneers, those that are fresh off the block belong with galleries. The blurring of lines between primary gallery sales and secondary auction sales will probably de-link as galleries play a stronger, more significant role in nurturing younger artists.
• It has been said before, but the trend became all too evident at these auctions where top quality works by an artist got better prices while the same artist failed to measure up to the reserve estimates in the case of poorer works. "Now you can't get away by just putting your signature on a canvas," says a prominent New Delhi gallerist.
• Younger contemporary artists have been cheered on by the media but analysts feel this market may have grown too fast already. "The market isn't sustainable," says Anand. "For these artists to blossom, these artists need an atmosphere where they are free to think," adds Tuli. So don't get carried away by the hype  --  a proven track record of 50 years can't be upstaged by someone with barely a decade as an artist.
• There is a growing market for second-tier artists like G R Santosh, Avinash Chandra or Sohan Qadri "who're getting very strong" says Anand. "Artists who have been underrated will find their prices going up."