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No big deal
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The first auction of Bid & Hammer in the city did not evoke an enthusiastic response
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Master strokes Jamini Roy’s gouche on board, Drummers, was successfully bid for Rs. 12 lakh
The inaugural auction of Bid & Hammer covering modern and contemporary Indian paintings & works of art was held recently in Bangalore. Previews were arranged before the auction in New Delhi and Bangalore.
“Bid & Hammer Auctioneers Private Limited is going to be India’s first homebred full service auction servicing all types of collectors,” wrote M. Maher Dadha, Chairman and Managing Director in the auction catalogue. “Our team of patrons and experts has a combined international experience of over 300 years allied to a deep understanding of the evolving dynamics of the Indian market.” On offer at the auction in the paintings category was a mixed bag of 131 works. prices of individual works ranged between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 50 lakh (excluding buyers premium and tax).
As many as 86 artists belonging to different eras of Indian art history were represented in the event. This included masters like Jamini Roy, Binod Behari Mukherjee, Ramkinkar Baij, Somenath Hore, M. F. Husain, F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, Hari Ambadas Gade, V. S. Goitonde, K. K. Hebbar, Akbar Padamsee, Jeram Patel, Jogen Chowdhury, N. S. Bendre, and Laxma Goud as well as a relatively younger but well-known group comprising Krishnamachari Bose, Nataraj Sharma, Rekha Rodwittiya, T. V. Santosh, Iranna, Pramod Pushkale and several others.
In terms of estimates, two 28 inch x 20 inch abstract works by Goitonde were expected to fetch Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 35 lakh each, while a watercolour (20 x 13 inch) by Raza was to be lapped up at Rs. 22 lakh. Jamini Roy’s tempera on canvas (Rs. 22 lakh), Gade’s landscape with temple (Rs. 30 lakh), M. F. Husain’s watercolour (Rs. 30 lakh) and ink on paper (Rs. 22 lakh), Krishen Khanna’s work titled Emmaus (Rs. 32 lakh), B. Prabha’s untitled oil on canvas (Rs. 24 lakh), and Jatin Das’s painting titled The Touch (Rs. 22) were among the works expected to fetch high bids.
Big names, small bids
Both the preview and auction did not seem to evoke an enthusiastic response. On the face of it, the list had big names to show. However, many visitors felt that individual works for the auction deserved better selection. As importantly, they thought that estimated prices (indicated in the auction catalogue) of many works were clearly on the high side. These sentiments impacted the proceedings on the auction day. For a large part of the evening, the hammer remained silent. At the end of it all, less than 25 percent of the works on offer had been picked. Among those which got sold were four paintings of Jamini Roy, two drawings of K. K. Hebbar, and two works each of Baren Basu, Adimoolam, Yusuf Arakkal, J. M. S. Mani, and R. Raja. Paintings of Raza, Ara, Gade, Baij, Souza and many others remained unsold.
In terms of sales figures, the response was quite weak; total realization was less than Rs. 1.50 crore for all the works put together (as against an estimate of Rs. 10 crore). The highest successful bid was for Husain’s watercolour on paper titled ‘Shiva’ (Rs. 34 lakh) Almost all other works which attracted bids went for less than estimated prices.
Many observers concluded that Bangalore had not yet matured in terms of art market as compared to cities like Mumbai and Delhi.
GIRIDHAR KHASNIS
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