en years ago, the Indian
art market was almost non existent in the United
States. For decades, big auction houses like
Sotheby's and Christie's were mostly interested
in Japanese and Chinese art from Asia. Even
major
museums held very small collections of South
Asian art. However, as the Indian immigrant
community begins to prosper and thrive in the
United States,
the equation is slowly changing. Indian art
is gradually finding its way into the mainstream
art market.
Hugo
Weihe, Specialist for Indian and Southeast Asian
Art at Christies, said "Chinese and Japanese
art has been traded extensively and dispersed globally
throughout the last century. So it has been recognized
by the public eye more easily. Indian art, on the
other hand, went unrecognized in most parts of
the Western world as most of it was sent only to
England due to its colonial links."
Christie's
had been holding Southeast Asian art auctions
for
decades, but their collection never
included Indian art. Three years ago, in 1998,
all that changed when they renamed the category
the "Indian and Southeast Asian Collection." Since
then, Christie's has held two large auctions of
Indian art every year, in March and September.
Indian art is now being promoted in traditional
and non-traditional ways. It is even possible to
tap into this growing market via the Internet.
In 1997, a portal called Artsindia.com emerged
as the largest South Asian online art gallery in
the United States. Started in the heart of New
York City's financial district, Artsindia.com became
the first and only U.S.-based online gallery for
Indian contemporary art, canvas prints, posters
and designer crafts. The company currently represents
more than 60 Indian artists ranging from such world-renowned
figures as M.F. Hussain, Anjolie Ela Mennon and
Jamini Roy, to younger, up-and-coming artists.
"Artsindia.com arose from the conviction
that the best of Indian art compares favorably
with the very best in the better-known American
and European art world," said Dr. Prajit Dutta,
co-founder of Artsindia.com and professor of economics
at Columbia University "However, much of the
art remains unseen in the West, and as a result,
remains greatly undervalued."
"We aim to creatively use the Internet to
generate a global audience and offer high-quality
art at affordable prices to a new generation of
art consumers," added Projjal Dutta, an MIT
architect and fellow co-founder. Visitors to the
site can read about the current art scene in India,
its history, the different schools and trends,
and even recent interviews with the artists themselves.
Artsindia.com has received on average 90,000 hits
a month and has built an impressive base of more
than 1,000 customers. Last month, the company opened
a swanky gallery on Fifth Avenue and 26th street.
"We started this gallery to compliment the
online business," said Dr. Dutta. "A
lot of customers wanted to come and see the physical
art."
While the average price for a painting at Artsindia.com
is $5,000, the average Indian painting sold at
a big auction house like Christie's is $10,000.
Still, the market for Indian art is minuscule today
compared to the $57 billion Western art market,
and the notion of buying expensive art online a
recent phenomenon.
While Professor Dutta concedes that some customers
are hesitant to buy art online, he feels that it's
only a question of time before the customer sees
art as just another commodity that is being sold
via the internet.
"Since we opened our gallery we have had
three shows and all of them have drawn a tremendous
response," said Dutta. "We are simply
overwhelmed and delighted with the interest in
Indian art. This response would not have been possible
five years back."
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