HOW FINANCIAL YEAR 2022-23 PROVED TO BE THE BEST ONE YET

The current decade is projected to be, and has proven to be a new leaf for the Indian art auction market. With online auctions driving lower value works and increasing the pyramid’s base and previously unseen masterpieces bidding for new records, the market is on the precipitous of unprecedented growth.

FY22 had proven to be the most successful year for the auction market, and set a rather tall order to beat. Its successor FY23 (April’22-March’23) has not only over-delivered on the estimated value, but also managed to expand the market in almost every direction. According to our exclusive State of the Indian Art Market Report for FY23, the turnover generated in the year by the 9 main auction houses* stood at a mammoth ?1,145.5 crores ($144.3 M). This feat was achieved by a record volume of 3,833 assets sold against the 4,240 assets that appeared for bidding.

The year started on the front foot with Q1FY23 setting a strong base for the year. In the span of 3 short months, Indian artists generated 29% of the total turnover generated in FY22. Majority of the quarter’s success is owed to the outperforming month of April, which was responsible for both big ticket auctions and sales. Not only was the month responsible for generating 61% of the turnover in this period, but also made headlines with Tyeb Mehta’s record break, and his most expensive work sold till date. This noteworthy auction single-handedly contributed 34% to this quarter’s success.

While Q2FY23 started on the backfoot, the month of September officially started the so-called ‘auction season’ with great gusto. Owing to many highly anticipated auctions, sales from the month accounted for 98% of the quarter’s success single-handedly. Saffronart’s ‘Evening Sale’ and Astaguru’s ‘Modern Treasures’ saw some key works enter back in the auction fold. This quarter further nudged FY23 to outperform FY22. While a modest ?4.8 crores ($620 K) was generated in July and August, September’s value totalled to ?287.9 crores ($36.4 M).

Unexpectedly, Q3FY23 proved to be the slowest quarter. As aforementioned, this period is often correlated with big ticket auctions and sales. However, despite the mild auction lineup, Q3 managed to generate a solid performance. Owing to H1FY23 setting a rather unrealistic standard of expectations, by the end of Q3FY23 the first 9 months had already generated ?724.6 crores ($93.2 M) and expanded its predecessor by 14% in the same tenure.

The most anticipated quarter of every financial year, Q4FY23 lived up to the market hype with consistently churning out big ticket auctions, sales and masterpieces. February and March 2023 were essentially as, if not more, important than February and March 2022 which saw the sale of the last highest records set. This period observed the sale of the 2nd most expensive work ever sold for an Indian artist at auction (V.S. Gaitonde’s ____, Untitled oil on canvas) and the sale of 2 previously unseen works of Raja Ravi Varma at auction, one of which turned out to be his most expensive sale. Interestingly, March was also responsible for M.F. Husain’s personal record which now stands at ?23 crores ($2.8 M).

The auction scene is now not only a mythic force of nature, but also a trusted marketplace. The positive sentiment is not just reflected in the top strata, but across the market. There is fresh capital and this would perhaps be the most opportune time to consider the auction scene for not just collectors and patrons, but investors alike. Moreover, it is almost a matter of pride to see how the Indian auction market now has a stature of its own. Following the trajectory laid out by the Western auction scene, the Indian market is worth analyzing as it is a capital generating machine!

*The 9 main auction houses refer to Saffronart, Astaguru, Princeps, Bonhams, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Story Ltd., Artiana and Pundole’s.

By Siddhant Puri