A recent report syndicated on MSN News summarizes the state of the Indian art market:

Art experts are of the opinion that though the market is on a path to recovery after the slowdown due to the growing Indian economy and the global art market picking up, it’s still a small group of key artists such as Souza, Raza, Tyeb Mehta, Gaitonde and Husain that find takers. The trend is similar to what was observed in 2008, when the global economic meltdown took art down too, hitting the prices of Indian art by more than 40%.

Anders Petterson, founder and managing director, ArtTactic Ltd (a London-based research house on the art market), believes that this trend will continue in 2011 as well. While the Indian auction market saw a slower growth rate in the second half of 2010, Petterson believes that if economic conditions remain favourable, “the Indian art market will again pick up momentum in 2011, largely driven by the blue-chip modern Indian art market. Also, parts of the Indian contemporary market are likely to start to see a quicker recovery.” […]

[T]he modern Indian art market staged a strong comeback in 2010, with total auction value increasing by 115% from 2009, and also exceeding the 2008 total by 16.2%. The contemporary Indian art market continues to tread water, and though total auction value has increased from $2.7 million in 2009 to $6.97 million during 2010, it is still 75% below what it achieved in 2008.

[…] Arun Vadehra of Delhi-based Vadehra Art Gallery calls the Indian art market a market of uniques and foresees a growth of 25-30 % in the auction market of Indian art in 2011.

Canvas of Global Hues (MSN News)