Quality still comes first

The benefit auction in aid of Sabrang, held last Thursday at the Taj Land8217;s End, was a subdued but well-conducted affair.

The benefit auction in aid of Sabrang, held last Thursday at the Taj Land8217;s End, was a subdued but well-conducted affair. At the onset it seemed like a brave and foolish thing to host an auction at a time when the world is clutching on to its purse strings.

The low attendance was a reflection of the prevailing mood, a time when collectors are shying clear even of art openings. Still, the generosity of generous souls, social activists and artists included, who were present in the audience allowed auctioneer Angira Arya to strike down his gavel more times than not.

It has to be said though that the prices fetched were not record-breaking; nor were the works memorable. There were a few notable exceptions, including a stellar drawing by Tyeb Mehta, reportedly acquired that evening by an international collector for Rs 15 lakh. But such is the territory of charity auctions.

From Teesta Setalvad8217;s perspective what matters is that 8220;80 per cent of the lots from a total of 64 sold, resulting in a generous corpus for the cause.8221;

From a market perspective, this auction could be seen as a tiny indication that things are not quite as bad as they may appear.

In fact, meltdowns are touted these days, to acquire quality work at below par prices.

On the flip side, lavishly sponsored dos in aid of hi-profile charities often turn into avenues for canny investors and collectors to offload pretty pictures, duds and dead investments. Lavish media coverage of the event on society pages featuring known names who may or may not even have bid and selective release of prices by auctioneers/organisers leads to a false sense of buoyancy.

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Auctions are but one barometer, indicative of prevailing market temperatures. Prices achieved at charity auctions should, realistically speaking, be taken with a pinch of salt.

Broader analysis of comparative pricing and an understanding of market systems may be imperative for sound collection building. This becomes doubly useful in scenarios where vested interests are known to push up prices of certain artists even at many charity auctions.

Recently, I met up with a collector who had bought what he thought were quality works at premium prices at a charity auction at the height of the recent art boom, only to discover that today there are no takers for his sparkling buys at the price he paid just three years ago.

The only people who are interested in his works are bargain hunters- the species is reminiscent of antique furniture dealers8212;who buy up works in lots in the hope that the one gem in the lot will justify the rest.

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Interestingly, the three works that drew slightly above par prices at the Sabrang auction were small works by Akbar Padamsee, S H Raza and Tyeb Mehta.

Confirming once more my belief that quality art will always find takers.

The columnist is an independent art consultant and writer.