Works by Indian artists are having a wonderful run at recent auctions including Christie’s and Sotheby’s by successfully appealing to buyers despite the downturn and sending a very positive and encouraging message to the market.

According to Zara Porter-Hill, director and head of Indian art at Sotheby’s, “By choosing desirable works by leading artists at appropriate pricing levels, we assemble a sale that we knew would appeal to buyers in the current market, and the competitive and lively bidding that we witness throughout the sale, principally from private collectors, ratifies our strategy. “says Yamini Mehta, Christie’s senior specialist of South Asian Modern Contemporary Art: “Our auction comes at a precipitous time as increasingly, international institutions are showcasing Indian and Pakistani art.”

Sotheby’s annual sale of Indian art in London on June 16 achieved Rs 16.33 crore, much above the pre-sale expectations of 1.2 million pounds (Rs 9.44 crore) while Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale in London on June 10 saw a 1960 painting by M F Husain fetching a staggering Rs 3.1 crore.

The Sotheby’s sale, which brought to the market a fine assortment of 86 lots by leading modern and contemporary Indian artists as well as rare and important Indian miniatures, saw an ink and pastel work by Jogen Chowdhury selling for a record Rs 2.95 crore. Chowdhury’s “Day Dreaming” graced the cover of the sale catalogue and was greatly admired during its pre-sale exhibition and had an estimate of 80,000-120,000 pounds.

The picture was purchased by a US private collector, establishing a new auction record for a work on paper by a post-Independence Indian artist. “Orange Head” by F N Souza saw strong competition from a number of buyers before selling to a US private collector for 403,250 pounds, more than three times the presale high estimate of 80,000-120,000 pounds.

This price represents the highest price of the summer auction series of Indian Art at any auction house. Hill said many results were seen sending a very positive and encouraging message to the art market. An untitled painting by Manjit Bawa, which featured on the front cover of the first ever issue of Art India in 1996, sold to an Indian private collector for 85,250 pounds while works by Husain were also highly sought-after with five of the seven paintings offered achieving prices in excess of their pre-sale high estimates at Sotheby’s.

At Christie’s 76 lots of celebrated artists went under the hammer for Rs 18.98 crore. Ram Kumars Untitled (Benares) sold for Rs 1.04 crore while Husain’s other works The Preacher at Mecca” fetched 121,250 pounds (Rs 9.5 million) and Untitled (Horses) Rs 5.7 million. Mumbai-based Saffronart’s online auction held on June 10-11 saw sales of Rs 10.4 crore.

A 1984 untitled oil canvas by V S Gaitonde top the sales at Rs 1.5 crore. Saffronart CEO Dinesh Vazirani says it was a well-curated sale with competitive estimates. “This shows a clear vote of confidence in the market from existing collectors as well as new buyers,” Vazirani says. Global interest in Indian art has established the category as a mainstay of the contemporary scene in London, New York and Hong Kong. Since launching Modern and Contemporary Indian Art sales in New York in 2000, worldwide sales in this category at Christie’s have grown from $656,000 to over $45 million in 2008.