Facebook Pixel Code

Pricing top notch contemporary art today

It is evident from the summer exhibitions of Christie?s and Sotheby?s in March and April in New York this year and the Saffronart on-line auction that was held in early May, that despite the more or less lively share market since the advent of the Manmohan Singh government in 2004, contemporary art has not lost…

It is evident from the summer exhibitions of Christie?s and Sotheby?s in March and April in New York this year and the Saffronart on-line auction that was held in early May, that despite the more or less lively share market since the advent of the Manmohan Singh government in 2004, contemporary art has not lost its attraction as an investment.

It no longer represents only something to put one?s money in when stocks and shares are dull. It is recognised as having its own value and worth. So it would be a valuable exercise to study the prices of two of our most investment worthy contemporary artists: MF Hussain and FN Souza during the recent sales.

I am restricting the analysis to works that are oils or acrylics on canvas, so that there is a certain uniformity of price that can be observed and studied, allowing us to concentrate on other aspects that determine pricing. Also, it is interesting that the average price of both artists is very close.

For Souza, the average was Rs 498.85 per sq cm, for Hussain it was Rs 493.10. But then, nineteen works of Hussain came up for sale and only twelve of Souza. So one can say that from the angle of investment, both Hussain and Souza are at the top today. This ought not to surprise us. Both belong to the same stable ? the Progressive Artists Group of Mumbai.

Both are influenced by the modernism of Picasso. Both have a facility with line and colour. Both are figurative primarily. And both represent a radical break from colonial academic art with a sympathy for and influence of our peasant and tribal folk art in their work. Of the two, Souza with his made to shock images and irreverent attitude has obviously an edge now in an age when the conventional and insensitive tastes of conservative elements of society are considerably devalued. Still, the two artists works sell across a broad range in terms of price. Hussain?s range varied between Rs 170.86 and Rs 1360.73 per sq cm. While Souza?s variation was between Rs 305.58 and Rs 1410.88 per sq cm. From this study it would appear that Souza?s buyers are more stable in their approach to buying works. Also, as Souza has done less work than Hussain, there is a lesser chance of being able to pick up something outside the auction circuit more cheaply. So the range is less broad than that for the work of Hussain.

When we look at the pricing qualitatively, we see that of the nineteen works of Hussain up for sale, only one, lot 6 of the Saffronart auction, a nude of the 1960s, sold above Rs 1000 per sq cm. Then, close to it at Rs 918.26 per sq cm was lot 293 at Christie?s. Again it was a nude. Both these nudes have an element of innocence in them and of surprise. One wonders how the artist caught them unawares. And both reflect the influence of Pablo Picasso. So, one can infer that modernist works of Hussain, and especially nudes of his earlier period of the 60s and 70s are likely to fetch the best prices.

Souza, ofcourse, was far more unflinchingly influenced by Picasso and was an unrepentant modernist. So I am not surprised that no less than three of his works sold above Rs 1000 per sq cm. Two of them in the Sotheby?s auction and one in the Saffronart. One of these was a still life, another a landscape and the third a head. What all three share, however, is a masterly blend of the figurative and abstract and the overwhelming commitment to modernism and Picasso of the Guernica period. So, from this one can conclude that what sells in Hussain is the element of mystery and surprise, while with Souza it is virtuosity and the capacity to startle.

The run of the mill investor, however, would be well advised to keep to the average price and not dabble with looking out for the exceptional. When we look at both together, we can see that what sells at a premium is the quality of the work, and even the workmanship put into it.

Individual artists? imagery, like the female nudes of Hussain or the landscapes, still lifes and heads of Souza counts only after that. But what ultimately determines the pricing is that the works are modernist in outlook, date back to the 60s and 70s when these artists first showed promise as outstanding painters and reflect a taste that is global, but of a period when the art of India and that of Europe shared a common anti-fascism, anti-colonialism and a powerful humanism that emerged out of the triumph over fascism in Europe and over British colonialism in India.

Both of these owed their success to that of the Soviet Union in the war. It emerged as the champion both of the anti-fascist forces in Europe and of decolonization in the world at large. This broad influence still dominates the contemporary market for Indian art not only in India but also abroad.

Good art is that which integrates the broadest of vision of the human condition and puts it across with originality of the irreverent and the skill of the master. Both Souza and Hussain have shown a consistency in maintaining high standards in these over decades. That is why their prices can be seen to be characteristic of those of the best Indian contemporary art today. And that is why their works are good to invest in.

Get live Share Market updates, Stock Market Quotes, and the latest India News and business news on Financial Express. Download the Financial Express App for the latest finance news.

First published on: 12-06-2005 at 00:00 IST
Market Data
Market Data
Today’s Most Popular Stories ×