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The Hurun Research Institute released on Wednesday the Hurun India Art List 2019, a ranking of the top 50 Indian artists alive, based on the sales of their works at public auctions from April 2018 to March 2019.
“This is the first edition of the Hurun Art List,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Managing Director and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report India. The work sold in auction could, however, be owned by either the artist or the collector.
“Resale value of some of the works of the top artists delivers better returns than traditional asset classes. Hurun India Art List is targeted at those who have the ability to collect but don’t know where to start,” he said. “The origins of Indian art can be traced back to the third millennium BC, and the conversations about Indian artists on a global platform is truly the need of the hour.”
The artists
Backed by sales quantified at ₹168.25 crore, Anish Kapoor, 65, tops the list, followed by Akbar Padamsee and Krishen Khanna, whose works were sold at ₹45.84 crore and ₹9.48 crore respectively.
At least 24 per cent of the list 2019 are women. Total lots sold in the year by all listers combined is 605, led by Anish Kapoor who sold 102 lots.
The works of Anish Kapoor, contemporary sculptor, registered the highest demand in terms of value and lots in the auction houses during the period under review. 102 lots of Anish Kapoor were sold during 2018-19.
Modernist painter Arpita Singh is the most successful female artist whose works were cumulatively sold at ₹5.25 crore. The eldest women in the list are Arpita Singh (84) and Zarina Hashmi (84), whereas the youngest woman is Ranjani Shettar (42). The oldest and youngest are Krishen Khanna (94) and Sumir Tagra (40) respectively.
Contemporary art form is the most popular style in Hurun India Art list, with at least 32 individuals using it. Abstract, surrealism, and modernism also have a growing influence from an Indian art context.
The most popular mode of presenting art is painting, followed by sculpting. Many artists prefer more than one mode of expression. An estimated 96 per cent of the individuals in the list are born in India and 16 per cent live outside of India.
Art capital
With 16 residents, New Delhi is the art capital of India as per the list, followed by Mumbai (7) and Bengaluru (4). In terms of places of origin, the most number were born in Bengal (8), followed by Maharashtra (7) and Kerala (6).
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