The Rise Of Indian Art Auction Houses

Rs 61.8 crore! That's the price Amrita Sher-Gil's "The Story Teller" fetched at a recent SaffronArt auction, shattering the record for the most expensive Indian painting ever sold. This landmark sale is just one example of the rapidly evolving Indian art market.

Gone are the days when the Indian art market operated behind closed doors. While established Western giants like Sotheby’s or Christie’s still dominate the global art market, India has witnessed a rise of its very own auction houses. Currently, the three big domestic players are SaffronArt, AstaGuru, and Pundole’s.

Renu Modi, director and founder of Gallery Espace, said, "The Indian art market is ruled by auctions." In 2023 alone, each of these auction houses reported extremely impressive revenues. Tushar Sethi, the CEO of one of India’s leading domestic auction houses, AstaGuru said in a recent interview that their turnover in the year 2023 was Rs 400 crore. This rise of Indian auction houses is a promising indicator of the burgeoning global market and appreciation of Indian art.

Talking about the overall health of the market, Sethi stated, "Both segments (offline and online auctions) are doing well, overall the art market is doing phenomenally." This underscores the strength of the Indian art market, with both offline and online platforms facilitating big sales.

Auctions have led to greater transparency about the prices of blue-chip artworks. In the 2023 Pundole’s Fine Art Sale, “Gestation” by Sayed Haider Raza sold for an astonishing Rs 51.75 crore, making it the most expensive Indian artwork sold on auction. Less than three weeks later, SaffronArt sold Amrita Sher-Gil’s “The Story Teller” during a live auction in New Delhi. The results of this auction demonstrated the impressive returns possible when investing in masters and highlighted the growing appreciation for Indian Art. Modi remarked, "Auctions have influenced the Indian art market and have also increased the visibility of Indian art internationally."

Many renowned Indian artists broke personal records as well. Francis Newton Souza, one of India’s most celebrated artists, whose work “Hunger” sold for Rs 30 crore in Pundole’s Fine Art Sale (August 2023), making it his most expensive work at the time. However, within a few months, this record was broken when Christie’s sold Souza’s work, “Lovers,” for a staggering Rs 40.69 crore pointing to both international and domestic demand for his works.

While international platforms like Christie’s and Sotheby’s command higher prices, Indian auction houses are catching up. A key factor contributing to the success of Indian auction houses is the power of the Internet. Online presence plays a huge part in establishing indigenous auction houses in the international markets, extending their reach to global collectors who can access their offerings in the comfort of their homes. Technological advancements like virtual and augmented reality are helping revolutionise the auction experience as buyers can use these tools to visualise how the works will look on their walls.

AstaGuru is a pioneer in the online auction market, making it one of the few that operate exclusively in the virtual space. According to Sethi, the mantra under this business model is to allow clients “to bid in the comfort of their own home”.

Speaking about AstaGuru’s online presence, Sethi said, “We started off as an online model and we stuck to that, it has worked well for us.” This was further emphasised during AstaGuru’s 2023 Modern Odyssey auction, where a Manjit Bawa work sold for a whopping Rs 25 crore, demonstrating that online platforms command as high a price as hybrid and offline auctions.

India’s booming art market, coupled with its growing collector base, paves the path for continued expansion.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the view and the position of the organisation. 

Ishaan Mehrish

Guest Author The author is the Founder of Tribal Art Connect.