The Hindu Business Line : Volatile times let art be seen for its true colours

Mumbai, Nov. 16 Art seems to have become a shade less attractive as an investment proposal, with investors staying away from the art world too, as a fall-out of the global financial crisis.

But the blessing in art becoming less hot for investors, is that good works of art are seen for their true colours and genuine collectors can now pick them up at affordable prices, observe art experts.

At auctions taking place around the country, total sales have slipped drastically, they say. For instance, Emami Chisel Art’s auction held earlier this month saw only 52 of its 105 lots finding buyers, collecting a meagre Rs 5 crore in total sales.

Compare this with its February auction that raked in a total of Rs 24 crore and sold 81 of its 89 lots. In fact, a single painting of M.F. Hussein got sold for Rs 4.5 crore, close to the entire sales of this month’s auction!

Investment eye

Vikram Bachchawat, Director of the Emami auction said that most of the paintings that were sold were priced at not more than Rs 3 lakh, while those that cost more than Rs 5 lakh faced a lot of resistance.

“People who bought art as an investment are staying away from art auctions at the moment as the severe money crunch has left a big hole in their pockets,” he said. He expects them to stay away till conditions in the money markets stabilise.

People coming to the gallery now are art lovers and art collectors, said Baijal Shah, curator at Mumbai’s Affordable Arts Fair. Though big money may not be flowing into the art world, art experts say that this is the best time to buy. “When else can one buy rare and good works at such affordable prices? Before the crisis, the bidding used to go to incredibly high levels and it used to get very expensive for the collectors to bid. Now that is not the case,” said Bachchawat.

Getting buyable

The top five lots at the Emami auction were bid at between Rs 37 lakh and Rs 51 lakh. Vikas Bhatia’s painting secured the top lot and two of M.F. Hussein’s paintings were at the second spot.

At the Affordable Arts Fair, paintings are priced between Rs 750 and Rs 3 lakh. “Just about anyone can afford good works of art even at during these turbulent times,” added Ms Shah.

Art is increasingly being seen not just as an alternative asset but as something now essential for a well diversified portfolio decision. Collectors at the top end are pursuing the best with the same enthusiasm, said Neville Tuli of Mumbai-based Osian Foundation.

It is particularly these volatile times which given renewed credibility to high quality art as a stable asset which holds and sustains its value with greater consistency than nearly all other financial assets and instruments, he said, endorsing the value of art as an investment.