Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Can Christie’s Build India’s Art Market Alone?

October 30, 2014 by Marion Maneker

india-auction-shot

Last year, Christie’s held its first auction in Mumbai, opening up a new market with a long-term strategy. The sale made $15.4m, twice the estimate, and featured top Indian Modern artists including Tyeb Mehta and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde who is currently the subject of a retrospective that just opened at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The top three lots, a Gaitonde and two Mehtas, sold for well above the estimates.

Christie’s is gearing up for another sale in Mumbai this December. But there are some, including the noted Indian art market expert Kishore Singh, who see the first sale as more of an illustration of Christie’s might than a measure of the maturity of the Indian art market:

Singh, head, publications & exhibitions, Delhi Art Gallery, says everyone is waiting and watching for Christie’s second auction that will truly define the market for Indian art. “The first auction was a superb collection of artworks and had the entire might of Christie’s behind it. Let’s see if the second auction matches it in terms of quality and value.” He terms the first auction an ‘aberration’, saying only sustained success will help the Indian market, especially unestablished artists. He also points out that no phenomenal sales of Indian art happened globally immediately after the auction in India.

Christie’s bids for another high in Indian art market  (Financial Express)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Kenny Schachter Fingers the Seller of Wool’s $17m ‘Cats in Bag Bags in River’: The RubellsKenny Schachter Fingers the Seller of Wool’s $17m ‘Cats in Bag Bags in River’: The Rubells
  • First Fourth PlinthFirst Fourth Plinth
  • Christie’s Has $3m Frankenthaler Record-BreakerChristie’s Has $3m Frankenthaler Record-Breaker
  • Five-Minute FriezeFive-Minute Frieze
  • Sigmar Polke DiesSigmar Polke Dies
  • Warhol Admired Picasso for his Fame, NaturallyWarhol Admired Picasso for his Fame, Naturally

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • $10 M. Picasso Portrait Unseen for Decades to Sell at Bonhams
  • Vienna Secession Painting, Long Thought to Be Lost, Sets a Record at Auction
  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Restituted Van Gogh Portrait from London Collection to Sell at Christie’s
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Collection of Texas Heiress Anne Marion Expected to Fetch $150 M. at Sotheby’s
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • After Pandemic’s Rapid Change, Sotheby’s Has 8 Predictions for 2021
  • Christie’s to Sell Its First Fully Digital Work of Art in Test of Emerging Market
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor