The art market isn't merely surviving, it's thriving despite Covid-19

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Charles Dickens may well have been paraphrasing the art market with his “age of wisdom” and “age of foolishness”, for sales have hit records, an increasing number of artists have fetched bellwether indices, and while there are rumours about the market’s vulnerability, what is evident is its stoicism. “It has been a year of surprises,” a senior gallerist told me.

History has proven that art has been a tradeable commodity in times of crisis — and where there are sellers, there are bound to be buyers, even in moments of adversity. This has been a well enough known phenomenon in the West, and if it remained under the radar in India, it was because the traded art consisted of illustrated manuscripts and miniature paintings from personal collections that were mostly sold at distressed values. The crash of 2008 was the first serious crisis for India’s art market, and it buckled at the knees, casting long shadows that have continued to haunt the contemporary market. 

“The pandemic has taken us a few steps backward,” acknowledges Deepanjana Klein, head of Christie’s Indian and South Asian art. “We were on the cusp of taking off” — a case that has often been made for the development of India’s economy as well — because it is surprising that the size of India’s share in the global art market should remain so diminutive. Auction houses have been gung-ho about it, though Christie’s did vacate its December slot in Mumbai for Sotheby’s to claim, so there must be some doubt about the market’s viability? 

Not so, say others. AstaGuru, Pundole’s and Saffronart have reported stout sales, and galleries that were expected to close are still around and planning exhibitions, and reporting good business in spite of being closed for a while. In part, this is thanks to virtual exhibitions and online sales. When, at first, the public health emergency threw everything into panic, two trends emerged. Gallerists trotted out less expensive works to tout to what they assumed was a frightened marketplace, only to be rebuffed. Collectors wanted the good stuff, provided they could enjoy an edge over the prices. Sales “boomed”, several gallerists told me. The second was an attempt at pooling together resources — Saffronart joined hands with galleries to promote online shows; TAP (The Art Platform) formed a cosy club of 15 galleries for online enquiries; Art Night Thursdays resumed in Mumbai with safety protocols. But, again, art-lovers rejected the new and the unknown in favour of the familiar. 

“The single common throwback,” a gallerist told me, “is that buyers want an assurance of security; they do not want to speculate with unknown artists, or mediocre works.”

V S Gaitonde’s untitled work fetched Rs 32 crore in September

Already, apocryphal tales are doing the rounds, of galleries being opened up for important collectors to be shown high value works. This is hardly surprising with sellers attesting that collectors want to view works before making up their minds. If a greater degree of personalisation is at play, Klein nudges one’s attention towards the Christie’s post-war and contemporary sale that was held, back-to-back, at four locations, beginning in Hong Kong, with the baton being passed to London, Paris and New York. “It was a phenomenal success,” she reported.

Bhupen Khakhar’s Portrait of Shri Shankerbhai V Patel near Red Fort sold for Rs 2.47 crore

With that behind it, it chose to test the waters for a somewhat modest auction of Indian art in July with the highest valued lot estimated at $1 million (about Rs 7.45 crore), followed by a more ambitious one in September that also featured a single-owner collection (Jane and Kito de Boer). The results would have tested Dickens’s ability to draw parallels in extremes. While a Chola Shiva antique commanded a new market high of $4.5 million (Rs 33.54 crore), the modernist Jehangir Sabavala bested himself at $1 million, but a V S Gaitonde and some other exceptional works remained unsold. Since this was on the back of Gaitonde retaining his record as India’s highest-valued artist, the result could have been read any way. Certainly, the Christie’s sale was the last of the autumn auctions that had all featured works by the artist. “There was a glut of Gaitondes,” concedes Klein. 

One of those was auctioned by Sotheby’s in March, surpassing its $1.5 million (Rs 11.19 crore) estimate to sell at $1.8 million (Rs 13.42 crore) in a sale that fetched it $4.8 million (35Rs .78 crore). Its $6.1 million (Rs 45.47 crore) sale established a new benchmark for Bhupen Khakhar at $2.6 million (Rs 19.38 crore). ‘The art market has been resilient so far, and Sotheby’s has very much stayed open for business throughout 2020,” says Ishrat Kanga, deputy director and specialist, Head of Sales and Sotheby’s London. For her, the move of the market’s ambit to include non-Progressives may well prove this year’s biggest achievement. 

Gallerists and collectors who spoke to this writer wanted an assurance of anonymity “because the optics about sales and prices at this time aren’t right,” said one candidly. Nor are sales slowing down, with one pointing out that with India Art Fair giving 2021 a miss, that business is going to come directly to the galleries. “You have to be pro-active, nimble and flexible,” a gallerist said. “I have the time,” one collector agreed, “but don’t waste it on showing me c**p.” 

Dickens said it best, after all: “It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

A collector’s market

• More collectors are entering the fray: Many are in the age group of 40 and under
• Their preference is markedly for the moderns: The contemporaries continue to suffer
• The contemporaries have found interest in museums and from curators: Acquiring them now is akin to investing in the future
• Online is for viewing, not for buying: Quality works need to be physically viewed
• For the first time, Indian art has proved to be recession-proof: But there is a cost-advantage to be had when buying right now