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Any art collector would tell you that building a collection is a lifelong effort, a process of constant learning and discovering. So, if you are thinking about embarking on this adventure, now or at a future date, it would be good to keep certain things in mind. In this article we explore some of these thoughts and pointers. A good story to begin this article would be the sale of the legendary Paul Allen collection at approximately USD 1.6bn, by Christie’s in November last year, called ‘The Visionary’, the story is not about the market value achieved, which is desirable, but no that is not our point. Paul Allen’s journey into the world of art collection spanned 26 years of passionate commitment of time and energy, which included identifying and purchasing artworks. Indeed, when the collection was first brought to public view, through Christie’s sale catalogue, we were amazed to discover that it spanned 500 years of art, covering different time periods, geographies, and styles. Some of the works, which had already fetched record breaking prices in earlier years to ‘mystery buyer’ were also found here. The diversity and extent of what the collection held has been written about at length by many. From our perspective, the common thread amongst the works appeared to be the reflection of his genius, and esoteric sensibility. However, when one looked at the collection in its entirety, it paradoxically felt precise, that he knew what the whole might look like at the end, and the decisions to buy where based on some deep calibration (his mental algorithm!). It is said that Allen took a personal interest in the works he bought, not just being dictated by their potential investment aptitude, but whether the works communicated with his sensibilities, their importance in the oeuvre of an artist, and the trajectory of history of art. While few of us would have the resources garnered by Allen, what remains interesting is that he chose to embark on this adventure with his capital, and how assiduously he went about it. We feel this to be the crux for anyone desirous of starting an art collection. Allen is also noteworthy since as a self-made billionaire he started from scratch, and build on the collection, artwork by artwork. Does this inspire our budding art collectors? Here’s a list of points to consider for starting on an art collection. 1. Does the work speak to you? Art can be an expansive, esoteric space, and it becomes difficult at times to judge what may or may not constitute ‘good art’. So, one of the first things to be aware of is our own sense of curiosity, aesthetic, and sensibilities. As one moves further along the adventure (yes! It is an adventure!), one would no doubt push boundaries, becoming more familiar with artists, techniques, and stories which delight us. Art after all should be a source of discovery and delight for veteran and new collectors! 2. Do you know the story behind the artwork? Which brings us to the next point on the list. An artwork has many stories, about who created / commissioned it, what it represented of a time and space, why did the artist undertake the work, what medium, techniques were used. These facets add another dimension to the heft of the work. Since each work is individual (we are not going to cover AI art or NFTs in this article), it brings its own lore and layers, and knowing these facets becomes important in the story of the work, bringing it further to life. 3. Are you familiar with the artist body of work? Which is why when looking at an artwork, it becomes important to understand the information available on the body of work by that artist. Now, by no means are we suggesting that people should know everything about every artist, just where that particular work features in the repertoire. For example, is this an early work, or was this created at the height of an artist’s creative period. For new artists, is this work featured in exhibitions, art shows etc. Knowing the overall repertoire of an artist helps in judging if it is one work wonder or if there is a consistency across the body of works. 4. Have you verified authenticity and provenance? Now for some technical points. Again, we have discussed these at length in our podcasts. In short, it is important to get verification from experts (recognized experts of artists, galleries who represent the artists or the estate of the artist) on the authenticity of works. This becomes especially so for established artists, with a standing market demand, where forgeries are likely to be rife. For new upcoming artists, the artist themselves can verify the works, and it becomes important to hold on to these documents for the future. Provenance pertains to the sale history of an artwork, ideally from the time it changed hands from the artist studio to its current owner. Galleries and auction houses typically provide the chain of ownership to buyers, thereby verifying that works have exchanged hands in a lawful manner. An impeccable provenance has an enhanced value as does a work that has been published in an exhibition catalogues, books, newspapers or magazines. Blockchain software have made this process more streamlined, but these are still in very early stages, and sellers typically still maintain and provide physical documents. 5. Condition of the artwork It is important to remember that artworks have a life expectancy and need to be cared for regularly. However, regardless of the care an artwork is given it is expected that older works will show signs of aging. For example, oil paints take years to dry and as they dry stress lines appear on the surface, which according to experts is a sign of the age of the work. Similarly, metal sculptures gain patina over time. The process of aging hence becomes integral to an artwork, and add to the beauty of the work. So it is not necessary and always possible for works to be in mint condition! Always ask for a condition report for an artwork and it should give you the basic information and if the work has been conserved or restored and the details of that process. It becomes important to understand the condition of a work, especially when immediate physical verification is not possible. Heavily damaged works, regardless of their artistic and / or historic importance impact the valuation. 6. Do you understand their current market valuation? Stories, background…all add to an artwork’s market value. We did a detailed discussion on valuation in a podcast available on our website and Youtube channel. For this article, we would like to add that artwork valuations are dictated by many aspects, and an understanding of what makes an artwork valuable becomes important to be able to assess whether it will retain, increase its value in the future. For developing markets such as India, valuation has a long way to go, and it is likely to see significant increase as the market develops over the coming years. 7. How does this work fit into your overall collection? Collectors may be enthused by many objectives, such as Allen who focussed on pretty much the comprehensive history of art. Others have preference towards styles, time periods, mediums, subject matter. These are largely personal decisions. It may be that at the beginning of this journey, the only intention is a personal connect, and any other themes develop later. Whichever way the journey shapes up, it’s a good idea to always think about the entire collection (to-date), when buying the work. And last but not the least it always helps to build relationships with the galleries to understand the artists they feature. It is important to note that this is likely to be a long-drawn process. In addition, you may be interested in artists that show across diverse galleries / cities. Another route, especially if you are committed to building a long-term collection, is to work with an art advisor who can bring in a wider market perspective be it auctions or galleries across the art market.

Positive Vibes The start of the new financial year (April-March) felt like a good time to take stock of what was happening in the Indian art market, especially since all the major art auctions for South Asian art were held this past February and March. We had heard murmurs during the India Art Fair in February 2023 that art sales were looking good for Indian Art, both with respect to volume and prices. Indeed, looking at the heady atmosphere at the fair and the soirées this looked to be true. Pundole’s, Christies and Saffron Art had held their auction previews at the Oberoi’s in New Delhi on the same evening during the India Art Fair, which made imminent sense for the interested buyers to mingle and compare the lots on offer. We are of course tempted to mention the record breakers, which we will, but the idea of doing this analysis was also to see if we could spot new trends, artists, pricing, which might not have made the headlines. As art market geeks, we continue to watch this space with interest. Here’s our view on the happenings so far. Starting the Action at Pundole’s The Spring auction calendar started with Pundole’s auction. Since we had already spotted the rare Raja Ravi Varma (reproductions, as the originals were Germany), including ‘Killing of Kamsa, in the preview in New Delhi, we were keen to see how those lots fared, and we were not disappointed! Raja Ravi Varma’s ‘Killing of Kamsa’ is a rare work as it shows two different incidents from Krishna’s life on a single canvas. Given the size 14 x 20 inches, this could be a preparatory sketch. The story of the owner itself is also noteworthy. Fritz Schleicher was the master print maker who controlled the running of the Raja Ravi Varma Lithographic press in Mumbai. In 1903 he acquired the works, which were auctioned off by Pundole, after being in the family collection for 120 years! All Ravi Varma works, including the small format works fetched some of the highest prices recorded for the artist in an auction. Since it is a National Art Treasure artist, the works are likely to remain outside the country. Another reason to revisit the inflexible regulations regarding cross-border movement of National Art Treasures, a subject we have covered in an earlier article. Another point to note from the Pundole auction was the prevalence of ‘tribal artists’, and paper works getting traction. Overall, the 83-lot auction achieved approximately Rs 75cr (approx. USD 9.4mn), largely on the back of the Ravi Varma sales, but reasonable take in, as we see from the major auction results below. Blast from Saffron Art Saffron Art’s auction, held mid-March, produced quite a few record-breaking lots. V.S. Gaitonde continued to rule the Indian auction world fetching his second highest sale price (Rs 47.5 cr, approx $5.8mn). This was also the second highest price achieved by an Indian artist in an auction worldwide (the highest obviously also his!). And there were others as well. Artists such as S. H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Jagdish Swaminathan, Manjit Bawa, all exceeded higher estimates for most of their lots. A quick browse of the auction results also showed that almost lots bettered their respective lower estimates, but our views on this are at the end. We were particularly pleased to see that Zarina Hashmi, achieved more than double of the higher estimate for her two works on paper. With only 40 lots in action (of which 38 were sold!), Saffron Art pulled in over USD 9.7mn (including buyer’s premium), or close to Rs 80 crores. Surely some of the highest average price achieved (though of course we can’t measure it as such!), and an affirmation of the depth of the market where established, well-documented artists are finally getting due price recognition. Even-Sailing at Sotheby’s The Sotheby’s auction in the third week of March was a mixed bag, with 75-lots totalling approximately USD 7m (including premiums) or approximately Rs 57 cr. Headliner works from S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain well exceeded their estimates and achieved anchoring sales prices for the auction. Other auction stalwarts, such as S.K. Bakre, Mohan Samant, K.K. Hebbar, Ghulam Sheikh, Ram Kumar, Zarina, Meera Mukherjee, Ganesh Haloi, Bhupen Khakkar, Sohan Qadri also fared well, exceeding estimates. The repertoire also included some artists from Pakistan and Bangladesh with new artists showing range of results and market penetration. Feeling the Impact with Christie’s Sale However, the performance continued to roll during Christie’s South Asian auction held in New York towards end March. Popular artists such as M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, B. Prabha, Jamini Roy, F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, were well featured in the 120 lots auction, and by and large maintained their grip over Indian Modern Art. We were interested to see newer artists also gaining ground, special note for Sheila Makhijani, a contemporary artist, whose work fetched almost 2.5 times its higher estimate. We found this noteworthy since her works are neither ‘typical Indian imagery’, nor seeped in any traditional motifs, largely depicting urban abstract forms. Achieving approximately USD 9.5 million for their 120 lots in action, Christie’s sale represented a wider spectrum of South Asian art, a nod to gaining breadth of Indian art. Rounding-Off with AstaGuru Closing the month was AstaGuru’s 199-lot sale of South Asian art in Mumbai, the largest (by lot size) for the spring season! It included artists from early 19th century as well as few contemporary artists. The sale prices of the total auction at Rs 24+cr (approx. USD 3 mn) was one-third as compared to other auctions. Reading Between the Lines with ArtKyk Some of the artworks that went at a steal were Rajendra Dhawan’s 29 x 35 inches canvas at Rs 3.37lakhs, and two iconic Paritosh Sen’s one a work on paper from his Ramkrishna series at just Rs 3.13lakhs, and a powerful canvas on street dogs for Rs 5.18 lakhs. A note to buyers to that it is important to look for works that are significant but may not be currently trendy, when buying in an auction. We spotted Shobha Broota in AstaGuru (early canvas), and her mature work Christies, both of which fared well. So, keeping our eye for this artist as her market gains ground! Another artist whose works made a rare appearance was sketches on paper by Devi Prasad Roy Chowdhury (Christies). Devi Prasad was the doyen of Indian sculpture, who made the landmark Gyrah Murti sculpture in Delhi. Unfortunately, though the results were not as inspiring, but it is an opportunity for buyers. Sculptures remained underrepresented across auctions, but it was a joy to see K G Subramanyan’s animal wood miniatures, which he made for the Kala Mela at the Faculty of Fine Arts M.S. University, Vadodra. Works on paper seem to have broken the glass ceiling, for example Bikash Bhattacharya’s ‘Dolls’ from Astaguru fetched Rs 32 lakhs; compare this to a similar sized (25 x 21 inches) Sakti Burman canvas at Rs 28 lakhs. While we were excited to see that through all auctions, majority of the works exceeded auction house estimates. However, on closer look, we noticed that the estimate pricing seemed modest at best, and not entirely reflective of market performances. In our view, prospective buyers should take a better look at recorded prices of artists they might be interested in, for successful bidding. Since auction results represent the tertiary art market, the results provide us with an establishment view of the market’s choices. For example, the wider presentation of contemporary artists in the Christie’s auction, the abiding love of traditional material in Pundole’s auctions, and the heavy hitters in the Saffron Art auction. These are all positive signals. What remains to the be seen is how wide and deep this footprint would be in the coming few years. The market appears to have picked up over the last few years, and we wait with baited breadth to see its speed and direction over the coming ones, and whether it will encompass even a wider array of artists and price points!

The recent debacle of Louis Vuitton using Joan Mitchell artwork in their promotional material, despite Joan Mitchell Foundation’s explicit refusal, bought to our attention the fine balance between copyrights of original works and the digital world. And the more we looked, the more perplexing questions emerged! So here is a glimpse into our journey down this rabbit hole. We start with the case that got us thinking about these matters, Louis Vuitton (LV) and Joan Mitchell Foundation. LV used one of her works for an advertisement, where the artwork image was in the background, with around 20% visible. The copyrights laws while well defined, remain open to interpretation, across geographies and jurisdictions. So, while under the European laws this was still considered strict infringement, it was allowed in the US, creating enough confusion for the advertisement to be released without consent. Additionally, recently, Hermes successfully posed an injunction on NFT creator Mason Rothschild (aka Sonny Estival) against using their iconic Birkin bags as NFT images, ‘MetaBirkin’, which he launched as NFTs in 2021. Till date around 100 of these images have been sold, and he had planned on releasing 1,000! These are not replicas of Birkin bags, but uses the images of the bags as base for his ‘artwork’, incorporating fur or even tusks – so as such no one will mistake them for the real thing. The use of Hermes’ Birkin bags for NFT works expectedly created much consternation in the luxury brand, especially since they were already in the process of launching their own NFT, and now could not use the hashtag as it was taken by Rothschild. The creator maintained that his creation is protected under the First Amendment, which allows an artist to make NFT’s using the world around. The overlap between art and consumer brands is older than the MetaBirkin problem, and artists have commonly used depiction of brands in their works, while luxury brands have incorporated art in their design. Let’s not forget Andy Warhol’s penchant for Campbell soups or LV recent collaboration with artist Yayoi Kusama. So why did Hermes raise a brouhaha over Rothschild’s works, while it ignoring the MSCHF - an artist collective, that takes physical luxury objects - cuts, breaks, and later resells them? They make Birkenstock using 4 Hermes bags! And they were sold at premium prices. How then would one treat a scenario such as this in the digital space? The conundrum is being faced with the increasing influence of AI software to create ‘generative art’, whereby the software sources the images on its database to generate an interpretative or entirely new image as ‘art’. It is important to highlight here that it is almost impossible for artists, who had created the original artwork, to keep track of how their art is being used for ‘generative’ artworks. But where obvious, it has created a lot of tension between artists producing original works, and what are essentially technology companies using data without any acknowledgment or citation to the original. Artists have already started suing AI software companies against this, recent case being Karla Oritz against Stable Diffusion. We understand that artists are using an ‘opt out’ option to keep their works out of the AI software range, but as we pointed out earlier this would be a difficult space to track or monitor. In an article we posted last month, we made a case for images in the public domain to be made available in digital format for free public access. We were specifically making a case for educational, documentation, and related public awareness uses, to create more informed focus on artists and artworks. But there is nothing stopping NFT creators to use these images for commercial purposes, forever linking the originals with the digital avatars on the worldwide web. Would the originals then lose their essence, or purity? These are just some of the questions we grapple with when we see the myriad news on the battle currently being fought between original creators and digital adopters, and we continue to watch as this space evolves, with new questions being posed with the boundaries blurring between technology and human talent!

We last wrote about museums in connection to public access to digital images and information on museum collections. We were curious about museum collections and how these can be accessed by a larger audience, particularly since access to information enriches the arts and cultural narrative. Why do museums collect? We naturally assume that museums collect, preserve, document and exhibit artworks and cultural objects as repositories of learning, and knowledge dissemination, as well as act as cultural storehouses for current and future generations. The focus then primarily becomes amassing works which have an artistic, cultural, historic and / or civilizational significance. In addition, there is also an underlying presupposition that museums are neutral and objective in the manner in which they go about achieving this. [In this article the primary subject is international public institutions and not private museums. Furthermore, we are not delving into the question of ‘who’ the museum is, and how they access these collections.] Within this framework, the desire of museums to acquire and catalogue more works seems largely justifiable. It is important to highlight, however, that storing, documenting, and preserving works comes at a considerable cost, and museums are constantly in a ‘fund raising’ mode, relying mainly on benefactors and donors, with some measure of revenues from ticket sales, and retail. Perceived aura of a museum The landscape become more complex when we consider that museums are no longer just repositories of art but have also assumed an aura of ‘gatekeepers’ of all that is ‘worthy’, and by corollary excluding what may be considered ‘unworthy’. The exhibition of any artist by the well-known museum hence provides the ultimate credentials for that artist / artwork/ period to be a deserving entrant in the annals of cultural history. Just look at the recent rush by the museums in north America to include artist of colour or women artists, highlighting also the biases of the very institutions thus far. Collectors, art insiders vie for artworks / artists to be showcased in major museum exhibitions, in turn fuelling the market demand (and of course prices) for these artists. Responsible collecting? This makes the responsibility of museums manifold, and coming back to where we started this conversation, the questions regarding how museum decide as to what artworks are being included in their respective collections. The push and pull between funding requirements and donor stipulations impact the acquisition decisions of museums. We noticed this while reading an article about the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) accepting 220 works from the American artist Philip Guston from the Phillip Guston Endowment Fund, which contributed $10 million to support a scholarship in the name of the artist, as well as stipulation that the Met will have a dozen of the artist’s works on view at all times, for the next 50 years. Sometimes the donor stipulations are specific to the room and what works should hang next to their work! Another example is the case of Samsung Family collection, which donated thousands of artworks and cultural objects to its national museum, in order to avoid hefty inheritance taxes. Did the museum or the nation need all these works? Were these works part of the cultural or historic stories that required preservation, cataloguing, storage? In another curious tale, works by a relatively unknown Indian artist, Y.G. Shrimati were donated to the Met by her family. What makes this tale strange is that the artist’s works are not represented in any major Indian art collections, gallery endorsements or auction catalogues. Shrimati travelled to the United States of America in 1961 on an art scholarship and never returned to India. Though she lived and worked in New York till 2007, her work were caught in a time warp, where she painted in the style of Bengal Revivalist school in the 1980s. What does her work reflect? It is not reflective of the land she came from, nor the land she made her home. Does this adequately reflect the critical analysis of the museum accepting artworks? The objective is not to be harsh towards any artist or artworks, but to pose questions about the role of museums in acquiring, accepting, and taking responsibility for artworks in perpetuity, if they do not add to a long-term cultural or civilisational narrative.

The latest addition of the Indian Art Fair, held in its familiar location of NSIC Grounds in New Delhi is a welcome event, given the rather precarious nature of physical events in the country during the pandemic years. We are keen to see the much ‘looked-forward-to’ fair for all art lovers and enthusiasts back in step. The fair is hosting key galleries from the art strongholds in India, Delhi and Mumbai, with a sprinkling from other locations. International galleries appear to have a notional representation. As avid art watchers, especially of new emerging trends, this gives us some pause to reflect about the more or less ‘unchanging’ nature of the art landscape in India. In no way are taking away from what we know is an arduous and uphill battle to showcase quality art in a country, which perceptibly has one of the smallest art markets, given its growing economy and rise of HNIs. But an honest look is warranted, if we are to hope for any chance and shift in art scene. A quick scan of the galleries represented in the art fair shows a clear dominance of Delhi and Mumbai. This is understandable since these cities have long been the prominent urban and cultural centres in the country, with Mumbai leading the art scene. A recent article from the Art Newspaper captured the growing art galleries and events in Mumbai, demonstrating the city’s strong art ties and avant garde attitude when it comes to tastes and trends. Well established galleries’ network essentially represents a strong structured art market, where artists are promoted, buyers are cultivated and art as an industry can flourish. It is by no means a testament to the artistic or cultural potential of a space, or indeed its economic prowess. It does, however, indicate the stake of art as an economic activity in a place. So it behooves us to ask: what is happening for the arts in other cities in India? Bengaluru (Bangalore) is the IT hub of the country, and possibly attracts bulk of India’s technology-related talent as well as funding for start-ups, and is a centre wealth creation for the new economy. In spite of its many infrastructure woes, the city continues to be a dominant IT centre and a place for new businesses due to the concentration of human talent and technology investment. In addition, the new airport at Bangalore, slated to cater to approximately 25mn passengers per annum in its first phase and 45mn in the second, reflects the potential expected economic activity in the coming years. We would like to point that Bangalore's T2 (new terminal building) has a vibrant art programme, curated and executed by one of ArtKyk’s Co-founder (Yamini Telkar)! The growth in city’s real estate and hospitality sectors is a further testament to its ongoing growth curve. But interestingly, it falls short when we look for a well networked and representative gallery scene. The few galleries in the city are not represented at national fetes such as the Indian art fair, or create waves with respect to exhibitions, artists or any city centric events. The story is similar in what was once monikered India’s Cyber Hub, Hyderabad, another city attracting investment and talent, and growing wealth. What is really worth noting is that the new art events in places such as Goa and Kochi- while both these places have entirely different cultural story and economic situations - have been able to carve out a place in the Indian art calendar. Kochi of course hosts the now the well-known Kochi Biennale. And even though the event suffered from some well publicized setbacks this year, it has pioneered the city as a backdrop for an art event in the country. Goa has been successfully hosting Serendipity Art Festival for some years now. In addition, it attracts a lot of real estate, hospitality investment due to many second homes, primarily from Delhi and Mumbai. The impact of this is evident in the burgeoning development activity, hotels, convention venues, a brand-new airport, holiday homes, retail and interiors shops, new eating experiences etc. Pretty much mimicking the lifestyles of these cities in a more laidback coastal setting. We would have expected the trend to be repeated with respect to the art galleries as well. But apart from few artists’ studios, and some independent galleries, the city, as with other centres, lacks a rooted art scene, and what we would have expected to see, outposts of major Delhi and Mumbai galleries. If we cast our eyes wider and look at what is happening in the larger region (outside India), the picture is much more heartening. Dubai, that shining city in the desert, has successfully reimagined itself as an arts centre, with a well curated, invested ‘Art Dubai’ event, which not only attracts galleries, buyers, and art professionals from the immediate Middle Eastern region, but also Delhi, Mumbai, Europe and the US. The Emirates continues to pour capital towards arts and related activities, and no doubt Dubai will hold its dominance as an arts centre in the coming years. This while Saudi Arabia is now pushing to create a tourism, arts & culture hub. The new biennale in Riyadh this year would no doubt benefit from the focussed attention for the growth of these activities. To our east, Singapore has refocussed its arts program with Art SG and the Singapore Art week. These events as of now did not garner much interest from Indian galleries, however, we surmise that this is likely to change in the coming years, with well-established Indian diaspora willing to spend on art. This brings us back to our thoughts as we started this discussion. Considering India is geographically enroute between the Middle East and the South East Asian giants, with a growing wealthy population, which is slated to expand over the coming decades, why are centres such as Bangalore and Goa not able to consolidate these advantages with respect to a strong presence in the arts?

1st of January is the international Public Domain day. This means that works of arts, literature, philosophy and related fields, which have served the copyright period of respective countries are available for free in the public domain. This year we were excited to see that Jamini Roy’s works, 50 years post his death, as per the Indian copyright laws, were available in public domain. Which set us thinking about the importance of access to artworks for the public and its current state in India. As an example, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in New Delhi boasts of approximately 17,000 artworks in its collection (as per its website). A quick browse of the various categories listed, shows a handful of images of poor resolution with no details or information about the works. The information on NGMA in Mumbai is even more woefully inadequate, and we could not get an understanding of the scope or periods of artworks in its collection. KNMA in New Delhi, one of most exclusive and expansive private collections in India, exhibiting some of the most well-curated shows also does not have a strong digital access. These institutions are India’s premier art repositories funded by the government and private agencies. The availability of images and detailed information on collections for other State museums is even more paltry. Interestingly, the National Portal & Digital Repository, a digital enterprise by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has collated the collections of eleven national and regional museums of India. However, these do not list the entire extent of collections, and furthermore, the quality of images and access to detailed information is limited, with no cross reference of artists and works across the listed collections. Why does this incense us and what is the importance of having images and information available in the public domain? We have written in the past about the meagre attention art receives in India. A large part of this is due to inadequate resource centres and availability of digital information. This comes from the basic premise that the more people know and understand any particular topic, the more they would engage with it. For Indian art, unfortunately, this has been held in very close quarters, which gets reflected in the small number of museums, galleries, public and private institutions devoted to the arts in the country, which boasts of one of the largest populations, a booming economy and the one of fastest growing HNI population. All these factors contribute to the negligible size of the Indian art market. Which brings us back to availability of images and information about artworks in the public domain. Why do public and private institutions not invest in the resources to make their collections accessible? We have sometimes heard the argument regarding ‘misuse of information’. We have tried to get our heads around it but so far not found this to be a substantial explanation. What does it mean to ‘misuse’ images? These are artworks in a public collection. Most of which would be outside of the copyright restrictions, and by law should be available. The other argument to support ready access is that Indian art market, particularly, has been battling the curse of fakes, especially for the high-selling well-known artists and artworks. In this case, unless people (buyers, sellers, enthusiasts, researchers, academics etc) have a compendium of artworks of respective artists it becomes very difficult to ascertain whether an artwork is rightfully from a particular artist’s body of work, making it easier for forgeries to proliferate. Information and understanding, hence goes a long way in both expanding the market and mitigating the prevalence of fakes. In the second part of this discourse, we will write about how and why AI generated art, and the plethora of AI websites is going to make this an even more urgent and imperative task for museums across the world.

Recent news about climate change activists throwing food, and other items, on art to highlight the climate emergency got a lot of eyeballs. So, we guess in that respect, it was a successful ploy to their cause. And it was not the first time that art was used to amplify a cause. In 1914, Mary Richardson a suffragette slashed ‘Toilet of Venus’ by Velasquez, which was hanging in the National Gallery, London. It made the headlines and attracted attention. Climate change activists began targeting art in museums from May 2022, when a man smeared cake on Mona Lisa. It is yet not certain if this was related to the subsequent incidences of vandalism. But Monal Lisa is no stranger to being attacked, in 1956 a man threw stone at her (it caused damage to her elbow) since then she has been behind glass, but this did not deter the attacks, in 2005 a woman threw a teacup on the glass, and damaged only the glass but this still grabbed attention. It is the most visited artwork. But the trend, since it got such widespread coverage, continued, with museums targeted in London, Potsdam, Rome, Melbourne, Canberra. As of now, we do not see any link between artworks chosen for attack, apart from the fact that these were cultural icons. The museums administrators issued a public statement highlighting the need to keep artworks safe and available for all. While we feel the activists urgency and support the cause (for action towards a sustainable earth), we weren’t too pleased to see food, or indeed any other items, being thrown at works of art! They have also glued themselves to artworks, albeit it didn’t damage the work. But coming back to what prompted this article. It sometimes gets forgotten that a lot of art is political, social and ideological response of artists of that period. And just because these are now housed in well protected enclosures in museums, they were at the time of their creation a radical statement of artists of a time, their own private protest. Guernica by Picasso, Barbara Krueger’s impactful statements, Bansky’s almost guerrilla style operations, Ai Wei Wei’s many installations and sculptures, and several more well-documented and displayed artists have been, through their works, highlighting the injustices of the times. We offer two more perspectives. Museums all over the world are struggling to bring in people through the doors. With huge costs of acquisition, storage, preservation, display, programming and high-tech security, there is a constant struggle to keep the engagement updated and relevant. Do these attacks bear a negative impact? Or will they draw in more people out of curiosity. There is already an increased financial pressure for additional security measures, and the much-needed funds will no doubt get diverted towards such. How will this impact exhibitions and outreach programming? Additionally, while almost all the artworks targeted were behind glass – only in the case of Warhol’s ‘painted car’ dry flour was used, the insurance companies are jittery. Some have made claims that they will insure only artworks behind glass! This is sure to impact the viewing experience of an artwork and add to the expense! Will people loan artworks to museums? It is also said that people who have loaned or donated works have asked for them to be removed and put in storage. The art world functions in an opaque fashion and is bound by systems and processes that are not governed by statutory bodies. Incidences such as these puts the system on a back foot. Art is a powerful vehicle for communication and artists have been involved in spreading the message of climate change, and many artists are voices of societal injustices and inequalities. The activists, who may have their heart in the right place, have triggered a set of actions that could be misused. We understand that to attract media and public attention, in an age when we are inundated with a constant supply of images and words, any group wanting to make an impact would resort to extreme measures, especially when their cause requires urgent political and social action. However, art in museums is a privilege for us all. To maintain this link with the global heritage is something we cherish as a society. Museums work very hard to preserve, conserve, interpret and display these works. So, when some climate activists’ groups pose the question, “What is worth more, art or life?”, it offers an incomplete narrative. Why? Because the protestors are not targeting art per se, if that were the case then they would target, high profile galleries, artists, art fairs and artworks. Please note that there are paintings, unprotected by glass, that are hanging in the same room as Mona Lisa; their targets are perceived symbols of wealth and privilege, and in doing so they have found easy pickings in institutions, which conversely are working towards equitable access to art.

A few weeks ago, we devoted two weeks’ worth of Instagram posts on public art and art in public buildings, all the while bemoaning that at some point, in India, a country that had produced so much ancient aesthetic in public spaces, we had stopped appreciating and contributing serious funds towards this endeavour! This, in spite of the Government of India policy mandate for earmarking a portion of capital funds for public works towards public art. So why does apathy towards public art evoke this reaction from us? As a consultant some years ago, (one of us) did many economic analyses as to how investment in public events, be it sporting, conventions, tourist attractions, cultural, entertainment… as well as impactful public art, increases visitor and local footfall to a place, bolstering the local economy. This creates both direct and indirect impact on the local economy, including increase in visitor and local expenditure leading to monetary infusion for local businesses, growth in employment in the direct service sector as well as construction sectors. As far as we know, no long term local or state policies in India have taken this into consideration, while central policies remain as reports. Putting aside the obvious economic benefits, as art and culture buffs, our lament is much more aesthetic (or rather lack thereof)! Public art, when well executed, can recreate the identity of a place, transform a landscape, and heighten our association with a space. These are not idle factors. A sense of engagement with a space goes a long way towards taking ownership and creating safe spaces for the community and visitors. It impacts the socio-cultural activities and can help promote a community’s collective expression. Tall claims indeed! Even when art creates a controversy, it invites engagement and dialogue amongst differing opinions, which is a good long way away from public apathy towards public spaces. The interplay between artists, architects, urban designers, local authorities, civic leaders and most of all local communities creates constructive conversation about how we identify with our spaces and imagine ourselves. We encapsulate below some of the art in public spaces in India, which inspired us to do the posts, and led to this article. Durga Puja in India – UNESCO Declared Public Art Gallery In December 2021, UNESCO formally declared Durga Pujo pandals as a ‘public art gallery’ for being an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” is a much welcome move. These pop-ups happen once a year and have become elaborate expressions of community’s artistic and devotional fervour for the mother goddess. As any successful arts project, and fair, ‘pandals’ encapsulate artistic ideas and are a place for social and cultural intermingling. There is extensive planning and detailed execution! But most of all they are an annual ode to the goddess in her various forms. Ancestor – Bharti Kher’s Ode to the Universal Goddess On September 08, 2022, New York’s Public Art Fund unveiled Bharti Kher’s monumental sculpture at Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park, called Ancestor. The 18 feet painted bronze figure is an ode to the universal mother, and as their website elucidates “linking our cultural and personal pasts and futures, Ancestor is Kher’s most ambitious work to date…. embodies multiculturalism, pluralism, and interconnectedness.” The theme of a universal mother and Bharti’s unique take on the subject is indeed awe-inspiring! What also ties in well with our last post is the quest as to why we don’t have serious public arts projects in India! The sculpture has been acquired by Kiran Nadar Musuem of Art in Delhi. Yakshi – by Kanayi Kunhiraman. This particular piece of public art is also about a goddess but has stoked some controversy in the south of the country, Malampuzha, Kerala. Yakshi, a 30ft concrete sculpture by Kanayi Kunhiraman, is an imposing piece of art. The au naturel figure is set in a tourist spot, close to a water body, against the backdrops of the verdant Western Ghats. With the Kerala Tourism authority featuring this beguiling work in its social media post, some factions have expressed their opposition for showcasing sensuality in public spaces! For Kanayi, since Yakshi is a goddess of nature, there was no other way to represent her. Since he also believes that “art is like waking people up and giving them a shock and not like putting them to sleep by singing a lullaby”, he is probably pleased by the assortment of reactions. We are just pleased to see more (interesting!) public art! The next set of public art are directly related to some of the most important public institutions of the country and may be say most staid. Indeed the art their edifices magnifies their message and what they are trying to achieve. Reserve Bank of India – Sculpture by Ramkinkar Baij Post-Independence, India embarked on many public development works. In this milieu- many public buildings were also commissioned to earmark new public institutions. Since no important architectural project can be complete without appropriate artwork, these buildings saw monumental works by some of the leading artists of the times. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the foremost institution to maintain the economic and monetary health of India. The RBI building in New Delhi greets the visitors with the larger than life figures of Yaksha and Yakshi, crafted by Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980). These sculptures, which took almost 12years to complete, act as guardians of wealth - a symbolism from Indian mythology. New India Assurance Company – Expressions of Art Deco in the Financial Hub of India As with many iconic architectural or artistic projects, this one comes with its own lore. The New India Assurance (NIA) Company was established in 1919 by Sir Dorabji Tata, as a response to the refusal of British insurers to insure Indian business interests. Since then, the megalith has undergone many changes and avatars, reflecting the socio-economic policies of the country. Over the decades much has changed, but what remains is the awe-inspiring architecture and relief work on its facade- representing the ambition and confidence of its creators! The building was constructed between 1935-37 by the architectural firm Master, Sathe and Bhuta, with the façade relief work sculpted by eminent Indian sculptor N. G. Pansare (1910-1968). Pansare was a student at the Sir J J School of Art and the Royal College of Art London. He worked on many monumental sculptures in Mumbai specifically, as well as across the country. The sculptural decorations on the NIA building consist of two six-storey high figures, that make the building stand out in the busy area. The entrance pillars on the street level depict a man garbed in a ‘dhoti’ holding industrial tools, and on the other side is a woman draped in a sari holding various agricultural produce. Both the figures and the multiple individual representations of birds, and animals signify freedom and abundance. For the film buff, the Filmfare award (black lady) was designed by Pansare in 1954! And those from the Sir J J School of Art, would be interested to learn that the sculpture in forecourt of the Applied Arts building is also the work of Pansare. Mumbai remains a cornucopia of architectural styles, and possibly one of the few places in the world with such rich Art Deco style of buildings. Indeed, NIA building is a feast for the eyes! A rich addition to Mumbai’s architectural story. Shiv Parvati Relief by Satish Gujral – An Interesting Addition to Le Corbusier’s Post Modern Architecture One of the first new planned cities in post-independence India, Chandigarh was designed and planned by Le Corbusier, and its architectural and planning ethos shaped many new urban centres in the country. The building of Government Museum in Chandigarh represents the idea of what architectural modernism meant at that time and is a fine example of Le Corbusier’s use of industrial materials as an element of design. What makes the building even more interesting is that it houses India’s share of ancient artefacts, which were split from the museum in Lahore at the time of partition. The ceramic relief work by Satish Gujral, titled Shiv-Parvati, on the building façade, is an interesting addition. Gujral choice of subject is striking, because the representation of these two divine figures has been captured in sculptural forms across India and over centuries and he overcomes the pre-set signifiers associated with them and forges a new modern language for their forms. Gujral's focus is on the power associated with them rather than the iconography, choosing industrial elements of the building structure to create the large relief panels showcasing the versatility of both the subjects and the sculptor!

We wrote about the Indian art market in one of our earlier posts. In this post we wanted to go a bit deeper and look at what recent trends say about the investment sentiment for Indian art and how we are reading some auction data points. To clarify, this is not an intelligence report, but more an opinion piece on what we read beyond the record breaking prices and numbers. To start though, we would share some data we assimilated from the (very) few art intelligence reports on Indian market. As of 2021, it is estimated that Indian art auctions brought in Rs 880cr (approx. USD 107mn as of current conversion rate, though it would have been higher in 2021), a whopping 57% from the previous financial year 2019-20. While this is an impressive statistic to brandish about, it is also important to highlight that in spite of this growth, and including the gallery sales estimates, Indian art market represents less than 1% (actually just a few decimal points) of global estimate of art sales of USD 65bn. Regardless, we will focus on the auction sales trends, as we promised at the start of the post! In 2020-21, auction sales by value, number of sales, online auctions, record prices, all saw considerable jump from the previous year. This was particularly telling about the growing strength of the market since 2020 was the pandemic year (pandemic period accelerated online art platform across the world). Christies Auctions is also said to have reported that they saw a 31% increase in new buyers from India in 2021, as compared to the previous year, and a large number of these were millenniums and Gen Z buyers. Additionally, most intelligence reports suggest that ‘Modern’ art segment continues to be the most preferred art buying category, accounting for over 96% of the works of the top 100 artists / artworks, and over 94% of the artworks which achieved record breaking prices in 2021. These are all good statistics , and it looks like Indian art market has not only shown resilience but is also slated to become an important investment asset class. Art is peculiar that way. It is an investment asset class, and maybe considered a hedge against market volatility. There are art indices, investment platforms, art funds, securitisation agencies – all dealing with the commercial value of art. However, unlike other assets, it also evokes a strong personal passionate bias. There are reams of academic research, documentaries, articles, movies on just one important artwork / artist, not to forget passion projects, social media hashtags, etc. It hence becomes a fine balance to talk about this unique asset from purely a commercial standpoint vs the emotional response it evokes. Additionally, unlike other investment classes, it is difficult to make future predictions based on historical, empirical data analysis. Since these are physical works (well mostly, though digital artworks, NFTs, AI generated works are making their presence felt), there is cost of storage, conservation, detailing, authenticity, as well as a question of provenance – to further add to the complexity of valuation and sales. One of the reasons these factors get accounted for, as a matter of course, in the developed art markets (US, Europe, UK) is that these marketplaces have both the breadth and depth to cater to the underlying costs, and there will be buyers for pieces which can be verified and valued. For markets such as India, while the statistics quoted above are heartening, the number of serious collectors and buyers remain a handful. This in turn makes buying, storing, looking after an artwork, an act of passion and devotion (we are being a bit hyperbolic here!), and contributes to its perceived illiquidity. As in any mature market, for any type of good or commodity to prosper, the marketplace should have a thriving number of buyers and sellers. We feel that while the Indian marketplace is far from this scenario, it is changing, in the right direction, and it is only matter of time for the pace to accelerate. There are many underlying reasons as to why we believe this, and what needs to be done to make this happen (one of the reasons we started this platform), but that is a longer discussion for another post! After this rather long background, we can finally talk about what we wanted to say in this post! If you have seen our Instagram posts (@artkyk_talkart), you know we get excited about works, trends and artists. A few weeks ago, we realised that recent auctions for some of the artists we had been following were doing much better (in terms of values) than what they had done before, and new (for the auction space) artists who did not have long auction history were starting to beat their catalogue estimate prices. The story of an artwork is much more complex than what it might achieve in its last auction, but what this trend did indicate was that the market was warming up to absorb not only higher prices, but also expand the hitherto list of the blue-chip modernists and pre-modernists. Below is a compilation of the few we had noticed and decided to write about on our social media posts. Jamini Roy (1887-1972) Untitled (Dralha) A popular artist in auction catalogues, so much so that almost all auction catalogues feature a work by Jamini in the first few!. However Jamini Roy has, in the past, not touched the heights achieved by some of the later Indian modernists. This has started to change in the last few years. In 2021, the artists recorded Rs 4.32cr (approx. USD 530,000 in current exchange rates) in a Saffronart auction in India. In September 2022, he broke all previous sale records in a Christie’s South Asian and Modern Contemporary art auction in New York, selling at USD 579,600 (approx. Rs 4.7cr)! Known for his bold black lines, and simplified forms, similar to the Kalighat pats, Jamini’s figures usually have large doe eyes and swathes of flat bright colours. Popular subjects include Krishna, mother and child, Christ and cats and deer. The lot 601 at Christie’s September 2022 auction in contrast feels almost like a Thangka painting! Of course, experts will point out anomalies such as characters featured from multiple subjects, as well as the manner of detailing. But this is a rare work by Jamini Roy and it’s exciting to see it did so well above the estimates! M.V. Dhurandhar 1867-1944 A contemporary of Jamini Roy, but from the other end of the country, he lived and worked in Bombay and was a student of the Sir. J.J. School of Art. In his lifetime he was extremely popular and had many commissions to his credit for portraits and mythological subjects. Yet, Dhurandhar has not had much exposure in the current auction marketplace. However, this seems to be changing, as is evident in the last two auctions by Indian auction houses AstaGuru and Saffronart in June and September 2022 respectively. The two works at the recent auctions fetched Rs 4.82cr (AstaGuru, dated 1922) and Rs 8.04cr (Saffronart, dated 1934). Interestingly both the paintings were of the same subject - a dramatic scene from the Mahabharata - with slight variation in composition and execution and of course the one in the Saffronart auction was larger of the two and had more detailing, which well justifies the price escalation. Dhurandhar works centred on Indian mythology, with western composition and realism. Amarnath Sehgal 1922-2007 Sculptures don’t get featured enough in auction catalogues and gallery exhibitions. Which is why we were pleased to see not just a sculptor seeing active bidding, but one who has not seen much auction action previously! Amarnath Sehgal is known for his artistic prowess and finesse, particularly with bronze figures. His works are often associated with traumatic memories of India’s partition, but his versatility extends paintings, poetry, graphics and tapestries. Even though he spent much of his active work like outside India, he finally settled in New Delhi and was active in banning large hoardings in the city! On his 100 years anniversary, his family opened a museum of his works has been opened in New Delhi, a welcome move to showcase his art and life. His works can be found in public and private collections all over the world, including the Musée d’art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the 20th Century Museum of Vienna and Berlin, the Israel Museum, the National Gallery of Modern Art and the White House among others. Some of his bronze figures got attention at a recent Saffronart auction with record breaking prices, well above the catalogue estimates. We would like to reiterate that while prices in auctions are by no means a measure of an artwork, they do provide a pulse of the art market. It is therefore heartening to see a wider spectrum of Indian artists in the auction place getting their due!

The decade of the 1940’s saw a major shift in the way artists perceived themselves in the evolving socio-political scenario. These artists were questioning their role as artists from India, while simultaneously wanting to go beyond the boundaries and seek the wider heritage of art in the world, especially given the rapid modernisation that was all around them. The questions included that of identity, ‘modern’ art - as opposed to the revivalism of classical art - on one hand, and the academic realism on the other. This was a time of rebellion, but a constructive one, by the youth. Given the excitement of a country on the verge of Independence, it was the zeitgeist of the times! The formation of the Progressive Writers Association’s (Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh) conference in 1936, led this thought process. It gained momentum in 1940’s with the formation of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (1941) in Bangalore, which in turn spread across the country. The idea behind all these groups was to inspire the creative mind and mobilise people through the written word, drama, and art, and build a new world of freedom and social justice. For art - the three distinct metros of India, Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras) emerged as the harbingers of change. Interestingly artists came together as a group and chose to be identified as ‘Progressive’ and not Modern. You might wonder how does the ‘modernism’ aspect tie in with the progressive attitude of the artists? We will be discussing the groups and what each set out to do, but to give a broad view - the identification of these groups as 'Modern' stems from the positioning done in more recent times by the various stakeholders in the art market, especially the auction world. This decade is pegged as ‘Modern’ as it aligns with the European art world categories and it feels appropriate as the artists were variously struggling to find their ‘modern’ voice. We have read much about the Bombay group, which continues to grab exhibition and auction headlines. Very few know that there were three distinct progressive groups, each weaving into the story of the other, and yet evolving important art languages of their own. So we will start at the beginning of this thought process, and since things must originate somewhere, and like most cultural movements for 20th Century India this one started in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The motto of the Calcutta Progressive Artist group was "Art should aim to be international and interdependent". In 1942, artists Prodosh Das Gupta, Shubho Tagore, Nirode Mazumdar, Rathin Maitra, Prankrishna Pal, Kamala Dasgupta, Paritosh Sen and Gopal Ghose, united through a liberal worldview - and not (what is often the case in that beehive of a city) political ideology or stylistic language. This was a direct response to the Bengal Revivalist School (more interesting stories there!) and the turmoil in the country, especially the Bengal famine of the 1940s. This group of young artists were inspired to find their own voice that was strong and decisive, a voice cutting through the upheaval of the prevalent times. They held exhibitions in Calcutta, beginning in 1944 and went on to exhibit in Bombay in 1944 and 1945. Mulk Raj Anand and Rudi von Leyden applauded their paintings and supported their work. Eventually, the Calcutta Group of Artists would exhibit together with the Bombay Progressives in 1950. The Calcutta Group officially ceased to exist in 1953, with each artist evolving a distinct independent language. The idea of a progressive movement for art next spread to the cultural powerhouse of the South of India, Madras (now Chennai), with the establishment of the Progressive Painters Association formed by KCS Panicker in 1944 in Madras. Some of the core members were P.V. Janakiram, Srinivasulu, L. Munuswamy, A.P. Santhanaraj, Varadarajan, A.S. Jagannathan, S. Dhanapal, M. Senathipathi, K.V. Haridasan, M.V. Devan, amongst others. Interestingly there is very little information available about the manifesto of this group. However, they followed a direction that was at the end of the spectrum from the Calcutta group, focussing on the local for inspiration. The Madras Progressive Painters believed that the regional art forms were a 'deathless store of energy’ and turned to finding their roots through local. Their stylistic language, however, was in line with the Calcutta group, i.e., modern, and bold. The 1940s were a period when young artists across the country were seeking out a new visual language that captured their thoughts and ideas, the change that was sweeping the subcontinent. What was started in Calcutta, culminated to one of India’s best known and most celebrated cohort of artist gorup - the Progressive Artists Group, Bombay (PAG). Established in 1947, at the dawn of India’s independence, PAG were the most conscious of the other two groups and went on to dominate Indian modernism in the subsequent years. They had a manifesto; their exhibitions were written about, and they have a much-publicized group photo. We believe this photograph is telling and needs to be looked at properly, to understand how this was a sea change from the past! Six young artists look defiantly into the camera, setting the tempo for the group they represent –the progressive artists' group. They look at the viewer directly and self-assuredly. There is power in their gaze; they appear conscious of their identity as artists, who have set out to change the path hitherto. It is this attitude that sets them apart from their contemporaries, and those who came before them. A light-hearted confidence in who they are, and what they are creating. Look at the photograph again - the gaze of the artists also indicates that they are in turn aware of the gaze of the viewer and are inviting the viewer to be a part of this brave new world. The informality of their grouping, how they posed – all seated on a low platform rather than chairs - the casualness of their postures, speaks of an easy camaraderie they would have shared. However casual the photograph may appear, they pose for a picture, aware of the potency of the image, wanting to make a statement. Why do we think this? It appears to us it’s as though they wanted to break the barrier of the formality of art exhibitions. The annual exhibitions of the Bombay art society would have been rife with protocol as it was usually a government official who inaugurated and presided over the affair. So here was a group of artists who wanted to redefine art and artists in India, and push the limits of what was possible, a reflection of the newly born nation.

Rameshwar Broota is an artist whose works are difficult to straitjacket in a particular genre. His works can appear surreal because of the heightened depiction of the figures and the detailing of the human form, be it rendering of the veins or hair on the body, but then they are not. The paintings are not fantastical but relate to the world around us and capture nuances and minor details of human existence; they make you introspective. Adding to this feeling is the fact that his works are in sepia tones, a semblance of past times, bringing a sense of calm and silence. In addition to the subjects of his artworks, there are two more, almost dichotomous, reasons as to why we are engulfed in this silence - his technique and the scale. One would imagine that when an artist uses a large-scale format it expresses something that has many elements, be it abstract or figurative, that it would be a high energy painting and would overwhelm our senses. Broota, conversely, does nothing of the above. He uses large formats to paint human forms larger than life, holding and drawing the viewer’s attention to aspects that would otherwise have been overlooked. Broota also uses the scale to highlight the minute (and magnify) details. What makes the works even more awe inspiring is his painting process, where he does not merely apply paint, but also simultaneously removes it! Let us explain: he uses a blade to etch out the details – confusing? He lays down paint on canvas, the first layer being the light sepia tone, this is then covered with the darker tones, which he scrapes away with a sharp blade. This is a process developed by Broota and no artist is known to have used. His process of painting is painstaking, he barely paints 2 canvases in a year, and he is happy with this, because he believes that he paints only when he has something pressing to share. Let us look at the evolution of his work over the years. He has been making art since 1964, when he graduated from the College of Art in Delhi. In the early years he made bold expressionistic portraits and was quite successful, but within a span of three years he was restless. Soon after he began the ape series, which were satirical commentaries on the then contemporary social and political situations. Today these are much sought after! However, he characteristically changed course again and moved away from the personal and contextual subjects to introspective musings. This led to the emergence of the ‘man’ series, where the apes morphed into the body of a man, shorn of the contextual setting they appeared as the nude form. This was in the 1980’s, which was also the time when he developed the ‘nick blade’ technique. These soon gained acceptance and Broota was sought out by collectors. Broota continued to evolve and experiment. In the late 1990’s he took to photography as a medium and once again struck a different path but still large format works. He superseded the limits of the medium, which would have projected the immediate world, tweaking, and playing with the composition to create an image that was painterly, capturing a larger essence. And here too the artist is able to only 7 to 9 images in a year! Yet another hat that the artist wears is that of a teacher, since graduating he taught at the College of Art, Delhi and for the past few decades has been teaching at the Triveni Kala Kendra in Delhi.

In July this year India swore in its first President from the tribal community today. The achievement of Madam President to break age-old barriers and to rise to the country’s top constitutional position is commendable, especially during the country’s 75th Independence celebrations. We take this opportunity to talk about some of the many women who have shaped the cultural trajectory of India in the last 75 years. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903 -1988) Kamaladevi was a social reformer, freedom activist and most importantly the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts. She is especially respected in the Handloom sector for the revival of India’s age-old textile practices and adapting these for more modern usage. Kamaladevi was also the first lady in India to stand for elections from the Madras Presidency. Her multi-faceted capabilities also saw her founding the National School of Drama, Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Crafts Council of India and the Central Cottage Industries and Emporium. She was conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 1955 and Padma Vibhushan in 1987. Pupul Jayakar (1915-1997) Pupul Jayakar was known as the India's Czarina of culture! She is known for her revival of traditional arts and crafts; she played a crucial role in bringing Madhubani paintings from the walls of local / village homes to its mobile format on paper. She founded the Crafts Museum in Delhi in 1956 and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 1984 to restore and manage monuments and heritage structures. She also founded Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in 1985, as well as the National Institute of Fashion Technology in 1990, India’s premier education institute for fashion. Jayakar also wrote several books on art and was instrumental in conceptualising and curating the Festival of India in France, UK and USA. She was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1967. Jaya Appasamy 1918-1989 Jaya Appasamy was an artist and critic. She studied art in Santiniketan, and wrote about art in India extensively, including contemporary, classical or folk practices. Her book on Tanjore painting was the first on the subject. She was the founding member of Delhi Silpi Chakra and served as the secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi till 1976. Appasamy was also an avid collector, and went on to found Rasaja Art Foundation, which houses her collection, and is now managed by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.