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Sotheby's goes desi

With Sotheby’s first India auction, the country is set to emerge as a destination for premium art

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People love mystery, and that is why they love my paintings: Salvador Dalí; Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love: Claude Monet; Perspective is to painting what the bridle is to the horse, the rudder to a ship: Leonardo da Vinci
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If the choice is between buying another building or a Pollock, I'd go for the Pollock every time - Damien Hirst, British contemporary artist.

The wave of premium art is on a gradual upswing in India. New York-based auction house Sotheby’s is holding their first India auction next month in Mumbai and art connoisseurs perceive this will further ignite the buying and selling of art in India.

Gaurav Bhatia, managing director, Sotheby’s India, says Indian clients have been important participants in their sales for many years now. “The Indian art story has never been more vibrant. The biennales, art fairs and private museums are shaping art-lovers’ minds and allowing them to have an opinion as well as preference.”

India will include works of South Asian artists, western artists whose works are influenced by South Asia as well as photography and design. 

Bhatia says the sale will be led by modernist master Tyeb Mehta’s most notable work, ‘Durga Mahisasura Mardini’, a seminal painting commissioned directly from the artist in 1993 and which has remained in private collection. This work will be seen for the first time at this auction. In the last five years, Indian clients have bought over $250 million worth of art across Sotheby’s global sales.

“The number of clients residing in India who are bidding online in Sotheby’s worldwide sales has increased by nine times in the last five years, which translates to a 59% increase in the value spent by our Indian clients online,” says Bhatia.

Last year, Sotheby's auction totals in the key market regions were $1.94 billion in the US, $1.9 billion in Europe and $851.2 million in Asia.

Art collectors and connoisseurs often perceive masterpieces as a mode of investment, since they command a good amount of resale value.

“High networth individuals (HNIs) are looking at India for a range of investment options, across a number of asset classes and art is definitely one of them. We have clients who are HNIs and collect art but they are often art lovers who want to purchase good Indian artworks,’’ says Uzma Irfan, founder, Sublime Galleria and director, Prestige Group.

DAG's managing director and CEO Ashish Anand says, “Most collectors like art because they are passionate about it. Only a small percentage look at its implications as an investment and that is the way it should be. Of course, as we have seen, art is an appreciating asset.”

The secondary art market, which refers to artwork that is resold after being purchased directly from an artist’s studio or an art gallery, is driven mainly by private sales and auction houses. The secondary market is believed to constitute as much as half of the total global art market.

The global art economy, as per UBS and Art Basel, was worth $63.7 billion in sales in 2017. Artworks that sold for over $10 million accounted for 32% of total sales by value.

According to Irfan, the resale value of art pieces of renowned artistes certainly commands a significant price. “While the valuations are certainly premium, I do believe that globally, economic developments over the last two decades have had an adverse impact on the valuations.”

Anand says the secondary market is a crucial indicator of the strength of an artist’s work and works of masters come up frequently for resale due to their strengthened values.

ARTISTIC TREASURE

$250 mn – Worth of art Indian clients have bought in the last five years across Sotheby’s global sales

$63.7 bn – The global art economy was worth in sales, as per UBS and Art Basel in 2017

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