Indian contemporary art seems to be coming into its own inevitably. This should remind us that we are a powerful force that should assert itself and not be apologetic about the success we have achieved so far. The essence of this success has been the Indian people who found their experience of throwing out British colonialism (still unrepentant, if we look at the mess they have landed Iraq in) and then launching on the path of non-alignment which taught us to take independent stances. Visually, it is the art of this stance that commands a price globally.

It is known that the majority of the buyers of Indian art are NRIs. But that should not should not worry us. The NRIs are a reflection of the education system that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and a number of other education ministers after him fought for. Today, many of the most demanding things in high technology and medicine are being accomplished in countries like the US, Britain, Canada and Germany by them. So I am not surprised that the taste in art that reflects their development should be equally successful in contemporary literature, cinema and art. It is this edge we have achieved in human resource development that is reflected in the success of Indian contemporary art as well.

If we wish to look at it concretely, some comparisons that emerge from the results of the Christie?s New York auction of September 20, 2000 and that of September 17, 2003 are worth looking at. One of the most striking successes is that of Tyeb Mehta. There was one lot (307) up for sale in 2000. It was a 1977 oil on canvas, ?Gesture III?, (lot 151) a typical large figurative canvas (161.5 cm x 120 cm) that sold at $15,275 or Rs 7.58 lakh, working out to Rs 37.57 per sq cm. In 2003, there were two works. One was an older work, of 1967, also fairly large (120.9 cm x 90.5 cm) which sold at $47,800 (roughly Rs 21.98 lakh), working out to no less than Rs 200.96 per sq cm. But the work that was comparable to the first one, but of a later period, 1998 (lot 168), a tryptich whose size was 76.5 cm x 183.4 cm, sold for no less than $119,500 or Rs 54.97 lakh, working out to Rs 391.80 per sq. cm. If we average out the takings of both works, we get a price of Rs 296.38 per sq cm for an oil or acrylic on canvas of Tyeb Mehta, which represents an increase of nearly eight times in three years. That means that the price of a Tyeb Mehta work doubles every year. This ought to open the eyes of those who are still sceptical of our contemporary art as investment.

Of course, not any and every contemporary artist is good investment. But artists who have been part of certain groups, like the Progressive Artists Group, which later became the Mumbai Group, like MF Husain and VS Gaitonde are. In this same period, a VS Gaitonde oil on canvas (lot 302) of 1976 (127 cm x 101.5 cm) sold for $30,550 (Rs 14.57 lakh) working out to Rs 112.71 per sq cm. A similar work came up for sale in 2003 (127 cm x 76.4 cm) that sold for no less than $101,575 (lot 163) which works out to Rs 46.72 lakh or Rs 464.52 per sq cm. That means his work has appreciated by over four times in this period. There are not many investments that can claim to have done so well at a time of global recession.

This price rise seems to have occurred across the board. If we look at the works of MF Husain, we find seven up for sale in 2000 of which two did not sell. This time there were 10 and all sold. The price range in 2000 was between $2,820 (Rs 1.35 lakh) and $12,925 (Rs 6.16 lakh). This time the range was between $13,145 (Rs 6.05 lakh) to $10,7550 (Rs 49.47 lakh). The average price the larger Husains sold for in 2000 worked out to Rs 79.28 per sq cm, Rs 82.39 per sq cm and Rs 87.91 per sq cm for lots 294, 295 and 296 respectively. On average, one can say the price was Rs 83.19 per sq cm. In contrast to this, two of his works, lot 147, a 99.1 cm square oil on canvas of 1961 sold for no less than $107,550 (Rs 49.47 lakh), another work from the Mother Theresa series (lot 160) sold at $95,600 (Rs 43.97 lakh). Two other works (lots 155 and 159) sold at $3,775 each (Rs 24.74 lakh). The average price per sq cm works out for Husain at Rs 197, which is nearly two and a half times that of three years earlier.

This is proof, if any is needed still, that our contemporary art is one of the best investments in the market. This holds good not only for India, but for the world as a whole as Indian contemporary art is a global product. For this, we have to thank our best artists who have not only excelled in technique but also in presenting the world view of independent India effectively.

MF Husain: Mother Theresa series

However, one must note that these figures I have given above deal largely with works of the Mumbai Group artists. The 2003 sale as opposed to the one of 2000, hardly includes any of the Bengal artists, although Ganesh Pyne?s tempera sold at a creditable Rs 464.52 per sq cm, selling at $23,900 (Rs 10.99 lakh). So one can include the Bengal bluechip artists like Rabindranath, Gaganendranath and Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Ganesh Pyne and Jamini Roy among the good investments in contemporary art as well. The major problem, of course, is authenticity. With rising prices, fakes and the production of look-alikes are both likely to crop up. So the investor must demand and be given proper documents of authentication ithout which no work ought to be bought.