India International Art Fair, 2010 is being organized by Humree and Company at the world renowned exhibition centre, in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The exhibition will be held in the airconditioned Hall No. 14 from 9th -12th, September, 2010.

Coming close on the heels of the Commonwealth Games 2010 in October, this fair will showcase the artwork of Indian and foreign artists. Indian art is being noticed and appreciated in the art circles around the world and this fair will add to the interest and excitement that the Indian art field is generating. The buzz of the Commonwealth Games is already in the air and this art fair just a month before the Commonwealth Games will be, a not to be missed event for all the art lovers and the general public alike.

Prior to Sotheby’s annual sale of Indian art, when the notification on the upcoming sale was made public, it had generated resentment and angered members of the Tagore Centre in London, set up 25 years ago. The members had “accused the cash-tight Dartington trustees of selling off their cultural heritage and cashing in on the friendship between Tagore and the Elmhirsts.” In an attempt to put pressure on the trust to halt the sale, the members also took their protests to the Indian High Commission in London and the Indian government.

Some of the leading and well known art critics have agreed to help us organize cultural events, and curate the shows of the artists.

- Times of India, June 22

Despite protests from many quarters in the UK and India, 12 paintings by India’s Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, were auctioned in London by Sotheby’s on June 15. These 12 paintings were gifted by Tagore to his close friends Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst of Dartington Hall, in Devon.

The art works have been with the Dartington Estate Trust in Devon for 71 years and have in fact been lying virtually in storage, since the trust did not have a suitable place to display them. It was a suggestion made by Sotheby’s that prompted them to consider a sale at a time when Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary was being celebrated and hence there was a greater interest in his work. Sotheby’s appeared to have been correct in their observation and the timing could not have been better. Sotheby’s pre-sale combined estimate was £250,000, while the 12 art works managed to achieve a sale of £1.6 million (Rs 10.9 crore). It is significant that while the names of the buyers have not been disclosed, it appears there were many Indians among the bidders. This stirs a hope that a few of these paintings might eventually find their way back to India.

Prior to Sotheby’s annual sale of Indian art, when the notification on the upcoming sale was made public, it had generated resentment and angered members of the Tagore Centre in London, set up 25 years ago. The members had “accused the cash-tight Dartington trustees of selling off their cultural heritage and cashing in on the friendship between Tagore and the Elmhirsts.” In an attempt to put pressure on the trust to halt the sale, the members also took their protests to the Indian High Commission in London and the Indian government.

A spokesperson for the Centre is on record as having said, “We hope something can be done to stop this. Tagore and the Elmhirsts had a friendship and he did not give them the paintings for the purpose of making money.” The Dartington Estate Trust responded by saying that “the trust ‘legally owns’ the paintings and the sale would go towards the trust’s £15 million expansion plans.”

The news had also made art lovers and politicians in India to request intervention by the Indian government, saying that the paintings were part of the country’s national heritage and should be brought back to the country. It may be recollected that the chief Minister of West Bengal had written to the prime minister to put a stop to the sale and it appears that a senior official of the cultural ministry had also visited London regarding this matter, but it was soon clear that that Indian government could not officially bid for the works at the auction.

While these works have been hidden from the public eye for 71 years, this sale has given us an opportunity of seeing some of them in print and on television. The highest grosser at the Sotheby’s auction was Portrait of a Woman, which was sold for £313,250

(Rs 2.15 crore). Described thus, “The sorrowful eyes of an unnamed Bengali woman, rendered by the hand of Rabindranath Tagore, it is said to be a portrait of Tagore’s sister-in-law who committed suicide at a young age, leaving him devastated.”

A Sotheby’s spokesperson has clarified that while all the 12 paintings were sold to different buyers, it was fairly certain that many of the buyers were Indians.

- Times of India, June 22

LONDON.- On 10 June, the day after Christie’s unprecedented sale of art works selected from the Estate of Francis Newton Souza, the momentum continues with Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art auction. The renewed confidence in the market for this category was signalled by the success of the New York sale in March, which realised $8.9 million and was 95% sold by value, with many new private collectors bidding. The international appeal of this field continues to grow, with participation from buyers in Singapore, Hong Kong, U.A.E, the United States and Europe. The London sale is led by Saurashtra, 1983, a seminal masterpiece by Syed Haider raza (b.1922) (estimate: £1.3 million-1.8 million), which is the most valuable modern Indian work of art ever offered at auction. This auction presents an exhilarating array of important works from private collections, with excellent provenance by the leading Indian and Pakistani artists of 20th and 21st century. Featuring the celebrated masters of the Progressive Artists Group, through to the biggest names in contemporary art, attractive estimates cross the spectrum of artists, styles and media with estimates ranging from £1,000 to £1.8 million. The sale is expected to realise in excess of £4 million. Please see the separate press release for details on the sale of art works selected from the Estate of Francis Newton Souza.

Yamini Mehta, Christie’s Senior Specialist, Director, South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art, London: “The global art market is receptive to the best. As international collectors converge in London this June prior to heading to Art Basel, where an increased number of South Asian Art will be on view this year, we are thrilled to be offering iconic works by the masters as well as important contemporary works, including examples by Pakistani artists. It is important that Christie’s, as well as galleries, art fairs and institutions, continue - as they do - to broaden concepts of what constitutes Sub-Continental art.”
Modernism:
The top lot of the sale is the most valuable modern Indian art work ever to be offered at auction: Syed Haider raza’s Saurashtra, 1983, (estimate: £1.3 million-1.8 million), from a Private French Collector who acquired it directly from the artist, illustrated above. This large work (78¾ x 78¾ in. / 200 x 200 cm.), by one of India's leading modern masters, belongs to a key period in raza's career when his artistic path brought him full circle and he began to integrate vital elements of his Indian childhood and cultural heritage into his paintings. Combining powerful and expressive brushstrokes with a very rich palette, Saurashtra provides a transitional bridge into his structured geometric works which are characteristic of his most recent body of paintings. Exploring landscape and nature; gesture and expression; geometry and spiritualism, this painting is one of raza's most ambitious works to date. This is a remarkable opportunity for collectors and institutions around the world.
Further Modern Highlights:
• Untitled (Arjuna and Krishna), circa 1980s, by Maqbool Fida Husain (b.1915) (estimate: £500,000-700,000) which portrays the heroes of the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The strong influence of classical Indian painting and sculptural traditions upon Husain is evident in this work, which exemplifies the characteristic energy of Husain’s canvases.
• Falling Bird, 1999 is a tour de force by Tyeb Mehta (1925 -2009), one of India's greatest Modernist masters (estimate: £400,000-600,000). Having executed only a relatively small body of work, it is very rare that such an important example comes to auction. With mythological thematic roots, this work skilfully combines concept, line, colour and composition.
• Untitled (Gulammohammed Sheikh with Tom Hancock), circa 1970s by Bhupen Khakhar (1934-2004) (estimate: £100,000-150,000). Gulammohammed Sheikh was Khakhar’s lifelong friend; Tom Hancock (1930-2006), a British architect who taught at Baroda during the seventies and designed the Battersea Peace Pagoda in London, also became part of the artist’s circle. Drawing inspiration from the West and India, this painting stylistically alludes to early Italian painting and Bengali pata painting from Kalighat, but also imbues the spirit of Henri Rousseau and David Hockney.
Contemporary Works:
The strong array of contemporary art featured provides collectors with an opportunity to acquire significant works by some of the best known South Asian practitioners today. Subodh Gupta is one of India's leading contemporary artists, whose powerful vocabulary is firmly rooted in the vernacular of everyday India. Chimta, 2003, (estimate: £200,000-300,000), transforms hundreds of stainless steel tongs or 'chimta' - a common Indian kitchen staple used for handling chapatti and naan bread - into a metallic explosion of wonder. Offered from a private European collection, this semi-globed constellation continues the legacy of Duchamp’s ready-mades whilst simultaneously revealing the sensuous splendour of familiar objects, as if they are precious or luxurious commodities. Gupta stirs questions about the dramatic changes and shifts that accompany India's strengthening economy and its effect on the country's deeply spiritual and ancient culture.
Further Contemporary Highlights:
• Untitled by Ravinder Reddy (b.1956) (estimate: £90,000-120,000), who contemporises traditional Indian goddesses, whilst referencing Jeff Koons and playing with the American concept of "super-sizing." Through such transformations and re-appropriations of ancient Indian temple sculpture, the artist is possibly commenting on how India's religious and cultural histories are being diluted and Westernised by the surge of ‘progress.’
• Dis-location 3, 2007, by Rashid Rana (b. 1968) illustrated left (estimate: £60,000-80,000) who charts a new course with his ‘Dis-location’ series by using one location photographed over a duration of twenty four hours to create the large composite image of the same location. Disorienting the viewer’s sense of time and place, the 'pixels' of the work illustrate the frenetic nature of busy street life in contemporary Lahore, whilst the overall image possesses the charm of a historical photograph.

- Times of India, June 11

at Chris-tie’s in New York. It was a 1932 portrait of the Spanish master’s blonde mistress, known as the Nude, Green Leaves and Bust. It was an all-time record for a single piece of art. There was no demonstration at the auction venue against obscenity and nudity in art. No one demanded that Picasso be exiled to Malaga or Doha in the mistaken belief that the painter was still alive. Taxmen did not line up to collect import duties for an “undervalued” Spanish product “smuggled” via Paris. No one slapped notices for VAT amounting to nearly $13 million. But some of these are realistic scenarios if you switched the venue of this auction to India.
When an industrialist bought the sword of Tipu Sultan in a London auction in 2003 and brought it back to India with great fanfare, all import duties were waived off by the finance minister. I have a friend in London who has an impressive collection of Jamini Roys. If he decides to return to Kolkata and wants to bring his collection back with him to its country of origin, he would have to contend with customs officials unless he obtains the same dispensation.
According to certain estimates, the business of art in India has probably touched $1 billion a year if one included all cross-border transactions. But a large part of this value is hidden in the parallel economy and much of the “trading” is conducted under the fiscal radar.
Indian artists and painters are becoming more prominent and coveted in the global art bazaar. High net worth individuals in India now have the urge of sourcing art from across the globe. Therefore, a thoughtful and sensible approach must be formulated by India.
Last month, the Ficci Committee on Art and Business of Art under the astute chairpersonship of Rakhi Sarkar released a report titled ‘Art Industry in India: Policy Recommendations’. One of the key recommendations of the committee was: the ministry of culture (which is directly under the prime minister) should craft and publish a National Art Policy in consultation with all stakeholders, which would include artists, industry, galleries, traders, collectors and buyers of art. A core objective of this policy should be the radical reduction of bureaucratic red tape. There is a compelling case for simplifying procedures and streamlining the regulatory requirements to ensure that artists, art galleries and other stakeholders have a reduced number of touch points with government departments.
The dice of the tax regime is loaded against the blossoming artists. Artists generally experience variations in their income levels due to irregular sale patterns. This fluctuation of income between tax years can be adverse for artists due to the progressive slab rates applying to individuals, which impose higher tax rates as taxable income increases. To adjust the income fluctuations that artists experience, one of the recommendations is to amend the tax laws and the artists to have an income-averaging concept. This concept prevails in Australia, Germany and other countries.
Corporate philanthropy is encouraged in many other countries such as Australia and the US. Corporate establishments contribute voluntarily to the art sector. The government should consider allowing a full expense deduction for the amount of donation made for the cause of art. It has also recommended the exemption from basic customs duty on import of all types of works of art. The once-profitable business of gold smuggling was destroyed by the drastic reduction of import duties on gold. The arbitrage became so small that the risks made the business of smuggling gold unviable. The committee has suggested a uniform VAT rate for art at 1 per cent across states. This will take away the incentive of keeping the art trade in the parallel economy.
The right to freedom of speech and expression to artists is guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution of India. Clear procedures, processes and standards must be laid down to protect them from reckless allegations of obscenity and of being anti-national. Hooligans cannot be allowed to take law into their own hands. Summons to the artist or issue of warrant of arrest must be after due judicial scrutiny and balancing of interests.
Finally the artists who are at the heart of the value creation scarcely have a fair share. Middlemen and the collector, or investors, take most of it away. Is it possible to entitle artists to a reasonable percentage of the sale price on all subsequent re-sales for a specified number of years?
Vincent van Gogh died, by a self-inflicted single gunshot wound in his chest, miserably poor and lonely. In his entire life, Van Gogh sold only one painting Red Vineyard at Arles. In great agony he said, “I cannot change the fact that my paintings do not sell. But the time will come when people will realise that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture.” If a law, such as the one I have just suggested existed, then Van Gogh may have lived longer, produced more masterpieces and, who knows, died a rich man surrounded by many friends.

- Times of India, May 14