The rather shameful affair of auctions allowing dubious works to filter in as part of the process of ?laundering? fake works or doing the gullible out of pocket has not dulled the art market, if the Saffronart Spring Sale of March 15 and 16 is anything to go by.
The sale concentrated largely on younger artists, the majority of whom are yet to be faked. The works mostly sold at less than Rs 1 crore under the hammer. The highest price was paid for Atul Dodiya?s As Though He Listened, an oil on canvas of 1987 (lot 42), was expected to fetch Rs 40 lakh but sold at Rs 1.21 crore, over three times the maximum price expected of it.
Dodiya?s performance is expected. A second work of his, lot 40, an oil on canvas (The Kitchen of 1985) that was expected to fetch a maximum of Rs 38.7 lakh sold at Rs 97.43 lakh. So, not only do we have the young artist born in 1959 selling at close to seven figure prices, but his sales reflect the fact that still it is figurative art and canvases that fetch the highest prices.
The sales show that the auctioneers kept their estimates low so that most works sold at close to double the estimate. Let us take a look at the performance of those who sold works at three times the highest estimate. There were: Chittrovanu Mazumdar (lot 12), a mixed media work on paper (38.1 cm x 27.9 cm) that sold at Rs 2.64 lakh when it was expected to fetch Rs 85,000. The highest price a work of his fetched was Rs 49.72 lakh for lot 15, an acrylic on canvas that was 304.8 cm x 182.9 cm. He was followed by Baiju Parthan. All of his five works went between 4-6 times the highest price expected. Of these, the highest priced was lot 22, Seeing, an acrylic on canvas (124.5cm x 88.9 cm) of 1993 that sold at Rs 15.91 lakh. Parthan?s works went at price far lower than Dodiya or Mazumdar.
Other artists who topped the three-times mark included: Sudarshan Shetty (lot 50), who was expected to fetch Rs 2 lakh but got Rs 6.65 lakh; Anju Dodiya?s (lot 58) watercolour and charcoal on paper (175.33 cm x 111.8 cm); Subodh Gupta?s A Taxi at an Airport (lot 62) that was expected to fetch Rs 22 lakh but went for Rs 80.87 lakh; Paresh Maity?s oil on canvas (lot 69) that was expected to fetch Rs 7.74 lakh went for Rs 26.34 lakh; Anjum Singh?s Woman with Sofas (lot 87) was expected to fetch Rs 2.75 lakh, but sold for Rs 9.46 lakh; Sunil Padwal?s (lot 89) oil on board expected to fetch Rs 2.50 lakh sold for Rs 8.98 lakh.
There were others too in this league. Manisha Parekh?s Dispersed Fall (lot 63) was meant to fetch a maximum of Rs 1.75 lakh sold for Rs 5. 48 lakh. G R Iranna?s acrylic on canvas (lot 107) that was expected to sell at Rs 2.5 lakh netted Rs 11.38 lakh. Jagannath Panda?s An External Appearance (lot 109) was expected to sell for Rs 9 lakh, but sold for Rs 33.63 lakh. Manish Pushkale?s oil on canvas (lot 119) was expected to net Rs 4.25 lakh, but sold for Rs 20.604 lakh. Arpana Caur?s Study of a Tribal Weaver at Work (lot 6) expected to fetch Rs 3 lakh at the most went for Rs 11.11 lakh.
While not reading too much inthese positive figures, one can say that figurative works, both oil and acrylic on canvas, are the best investment our contemporary art offers.