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When it comes to art as an investment, says Chennai-based gallerist Sharan Apparao, you are either damn lucky or not. “I have bought a lot of artwork over the past 39 years; some have done well, others have not. ”
But with 2022 being a rather successful year for Indian artists (a 1969 ‘oil on canvas’ by V S Gaitonde sold for Rs 42 crore, reportedly emerging the most expensive Indian work sold at auction), several gallerists and art investors believe that art as a data-backed investment will continue to gather steam.
“Artists from Tamil Nadu are now doing well in the auction circuit,” says Ashvin Rajagopalan of city-based art gallery Ashvita’s. He says that three months ago, a work by KCS Paniker — instrumental in developing the Madras Art movement in the 1960s — sold for Rs 90 lakh. Works by Devi Prasad Roy Choudhury — the late principal of the Madras School of Art and the person who created the Triumph of Labour statue at Marina — are steadily appearing at auctions around the world. “So are works by Velu ‘Paris’ Vishwanathan, S K Rajavelu and AP Santhanaraj,” says Rajagopalan.
The question is, how do you begin investing in art? “Start from the beginning,” says Rishiraj Sethi, director of Aura Art, which launched an Indian art price index last month, developed with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. “Buy your first painting for the first bare wall in your house. Before you pick up a painting, take your time to study the market, go to art fairs, visit galleries, research artists, and talk to people who can guide you. Even your first painting should be a confluence of art, heart and head. Take a more involved bet on the art. If selected right, it can be a wealth creator. ”
Art, says Apparao, is about serendipity. “You’ve got to be at the right place at the right time, and pick up the right piece. Some enormously talented artists are nowhere today, while some hobby artists are doing great because they have friends in high places. ”
After making a few “buying mistakes”, Chennai-based businessman Jaiveer Johal, who has been collecting art for the last seven years, says he slowly learned not just how to allow art to grow on him but for him as well. “I switched from ‘pretty’ art to works that are more timeless,” he says. And it’s worked. “Let’s just say if I liquidate my collection today, I will be in the green,” says the 35-year-old, who counts works by artists from Tamil Nadu such as S Nandagaopalas well as those by modernists such as S H Raza.
In the previous five financial years, says Arvind Vijaymohan, Indian art investor and founder of art market financial intelligence firm, Indian Art Investor, 3,859. 6 crore has been generated at auctions by Indian artists. Sethi says their index shows a 17% compound annual growth rate for art over the last two decades.
According to Vijaymohan, the annual turnover of the Indian art auction market has grown from 7 crore in 2000 to 1,034 crore in 2021-22. “When you are looking to collect art from an investment perspective, you’ve got to learn how to use data. You cannot base your decision on mere aesthetics, although it does count for some part. ”
Venetia Vickers, head, financial knowledge, Indian Art Investor, says the firm has collected data on Indian artwork sold at auctions in India and abroad for the last 39 years. “Just like you have blue chip stocks, you have 30-odd artists in India who hold a chunk of the country’s market. They are works by the modernists such as Raza and Gaitonde,” she says.
“A person wanting to invest can start from as low as 15,000 and 20,000 but they have to be ready to wait it out for at least a decade or more. ” The lower the investment, the higher the tenure and risk, says Sethi.
Auctions, says Rajagopalan, are one indicator of how an artist is doing in the market. Their presence in international art fairs is another. “Chennai-based artist Benitha Perciyal, for instance, has a growing appreciation both in India and globally. ”
But for the artists, the idea of investment paints a whole different picture. “I’ve only ever thought of my art as my investment,” says Perciyal, though she does admit she has heard her work is garnering interest at auctions. “I always feel empty when my artwork leaves my studio. If I worked on it as an investment for someone, it wouldn’t work for me. ” AV Illango, another artist of the Madras Art Movement, says no one ever tells him how he is doing in the art market. “I have been painting for 50 years now. A buyer from Malaysia once told me my work was selling well overseas, but I don’t know. I believe art has to be purchased because you love it. Not as an investment. I paint what I like, not what other people like. ”
But with 2022 being a rather successful year for Indian artists (a 1969 ‘oil on canvas’ by V S Gaitonde sold for Rs 42 crore, reportedly emerging the most expensive Indian work sold at auction), several gallerists and art investors believe that art as a data-backed investment will continue to gather steam.
“Artists from Tamil Nadu are now doing well in the auction circuit,” says Ashvin Rajagopalan of city-based art gallery Ashvita’s. He says that three months ago, a work by KCS Paniker — instrumental in developing the Madras Art movement in the 1960s — sold for Rs 90 lakh. Works by Devi Prasad Roy Choudhury — the late principal of the Madras School of Art and the person who created the Triumph of Labour statue at Marina — are steadily appearing at auctions around the world. “So are works by Velu ‘Paris’ Vishwanathan, S K Rajavelu and AP Santhanaraj,” says Rajagopalan.
The question is, how do you begin investing in art? “Start from the beginning,” says Rishiraj Sethi, director of Aura Art, which launched an Indian art price index last month, developed with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. “Buy your first painting for the first bare wall in your house. Before you pick up a painting, take your time to study the market, go to art fairs, visit galleries, research artists, and talk to people who can guide you. Even your first painting should be a confluence of art, heart and head. Take a more involved bet on the art. If selected right, it can be a wealth creator. ”
Art, says Apparao, is about serendipity. “You’ve got to be at the right place at the right time, and pick up the right piece. Some enormously talented artists are nowhere today, while some hobby artists are doing great because they have friends in high places. ”
After making a few “buying mistakes”, Chennai-based businessman Jaiveer Johal, who has been collecting art for the last seven years, says he slowly learned not just how to allow art to grow on him but for him as well. “I switched from ‘pretty’ art to works that are more timeless,” he says. And it’s worked. “Let’s just say if I liquidate my collection today, I will be in the green,” says the 35-year-old, who counts works by artists from Tamil Nadu such as S Nandagaopalas well as those by modernists such as S H Raza.
In the previous five financial years, says Arvind Vijaymohan, Indian art investor and founder of art market financial intelligence firm, Indian Art Investor, 3,859. 6 crore has been generated at auctions by Indian artists. Sethi says their index shows a 17% compound annual growth rate for art over the last two decades.
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Venetia Vickers, head, financial knowledge, Indian Art Investor, says the firm has collected data on Indian artwork sold at auctions in India and abroad for the last 39 years. “Just like you have blue chip stocks, you have 30-odd artists in India who hold a chunk of the country’s market. They are works by the modernists such as Raza and Gaitonde,” she says.
“A person wanting to invest can start from as low as 15,000 and 20,000 but they have to be ready to wait it out for at least a decade or more. ” The lower the investment, the higher the tenure and risk, says Sethi.
Auctions, says Rajagopalan, are one indicator of how an artist is doing in the market. Their presence in international art fairs is another. “Chennai-based artist Benitha Perciyal, for instance, has a growing appreciation both in India and globally. ”
But for the artists, the idea of investment paints a whole different picture. “I’ve only ever thought of my art as my investment,” says Perciyal, though she does admit she has heard her work is garnering interest at auctions. “I always feel empty when my artwork leaves my studio. If I worked on it as an investment for someone, it wouldn’t work for me. ” AV Illango, another artist of the Madras Art Movement, says no one ever tells him how he is doing in the art market. “I have been painting for 50 years now. A buyer from Malaysia once told me my work was selling well overseas, but I don’t know. I believe art has to be purchased because you love it. Not as an investment. I paint what I like, not what other people like. ”
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