No, we still don't know if that's a trend. But yes, watch that market carefully because younger contemporary artists could end up grabbing the larger pie and prices.
A day before the Bonhams auction in London, we contacted South Asian art specialist Mehreen Rizvi on the likely fallout: 'Seventeen Souzas' on auction!
"Normally, when prices increase, collectors are more likely to sell their top quality pieces. The reason for Souza, particularly at the London sale, is primarily because his best period of work was done in London in the mid '50s and '60s."
There is some apprehension that the market is overheated.
"We will reassess the correction in the market after all the auctions of autumn have taken place."
Will young contemporary artists overshoot the masters?
"I doubt they will overshoot the masters! Contemporary artists are 'catching up' but the masters will always be the pioneers."
It is now clear that the despite the hype about the 17 Souzas (many of them drawings), including a 'Rear view of a female nude' with a letter that sheds light on a poignant episode in the painter's life, the works only came in second to J Swaminath, whose solo 'Mountain and Bird' commanded £180,000 at the hammer price (matching just the lower figure in the reserve estimate).
Only a few of the Souzas breached the reserve price, and even the catalogue masterpiece, the sombre 'Head of Christ' estimated at £150,000-250,000, managed a weak £150,000
at the gavel's drop. Another Souza find in a flea market, estimated at £120,000-150,000, fetched £130,000 at the auction.
If the London auction proved good for Sadanand Bakre, waning enthusiasm in the market for the masters is becoming noticeable as younger collectors reach out for artists from their generation.
Bonhams totalled £1.9 million at the sale (including premium), but the action is now firmly in New York with three back-to-back auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's. That's where the obituary might finally be written. Or not.
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