London-based Indian-origin artist Anish Kapoor tops the Hurun India Art List 2024

For the sixth consecutive year, London-based Indian origin artist Anish Kapoor has topped the Hurun India Art List of the most successful Indian artists alive, released by the Hurun Research Institute. The list ranks the top 50 living Indian artists according to the sales of their works sold at public auctions as of January 1, 2024.

“Our hypothesis on Indian art is testing positive. The Hurun India Art List 2024 evidences that the demand for Indian art is on the rise. For instance, the entry point for the top 10 artists rose from Rs 1.99 crore in 2021 to Rs 7.70 crore in 2024, reflecting a nearly 287 per cent increase,” noted Anas Rahman Junaid, Managing Director and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report India, in a release.

The total number of lots sold last year was 789, a 46 per cent increase over the previous year, which registered sales for 539 lots. According to the report, the works of “India’s most successful artists registers record sales of Rs 301 crore”, marking a 19 per cent year-on-year growth.

Junaid added, “In the 2024 list, the cumulative value of the top 50 works of art reached Rs 252.61 crore, up from Rs 82.57 crore in 2021, marking a three-fold increase. The threshold for an artist to enter the top 25 in the Hurun India Art List has increased from Rs 35 lakh in 2021 to Rs 1.9 crore in 2024, a rise of 443 per cent. The total lots sold in 2024 were 789, up from 495 in 2021, a 59 percent increase, indicating a growing interest in art as a stable investment asset.”

The oldest artist on the list is 98-year-old Krishen Khanna, ranked at number five, whose works cumulatively fetched Rs 18 crore in sales. The youngest is London-based 27-year-old Raghav Babbar, who is ranked eighth with Rs 12 crore cumulative sales.

Ranked at number two is Baroda-based artist-pedagogue Gulammohammed Sheikh, whose 2015 canvas Ark Kashmir sold for Rs 21 crore last year. Number three on the list is Delhi-based Arpita Singh, who also retains her position as the most successful woman artist.

Showing his bronze sculpture Genesis, at the Marinaressa Gardens — coinciding with the Venice Biennale and as part of ‘Personal Structures 2024’, a biennale contemporary art exhibition organised by the European Cultural Centre — Paresh Maity is a new entrant in the top ten, with a turnover of Rs 7.8 crore.

Comparing the Indian markets to the markets world over, Junaid noted, “The performance of the Indian art market in 2023 was remarkable in several ways, particularly for its exceptionally high sold-through rate of over 95 percent, significantly surpassing the global average of 62 percent (including China).

With fewer than 2,200 lots offered, the market was tight but effectively matched to robust competitive demand. This strategic balance helped position India in seventh place globally in terms of art auction turnover.

According to artprice.com, the $152 million in sales recorded for the year marked an impressive 76 percent increase from 2022, a year that had already set previous records. This is interesting considering the fact that all countries except China in the top five — the others being the US, UK, Germany, and France — registered a decline in revenue from art auction sales.”

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