Breaking The Psychological Barrier

An untitled painting by V.S. Gaitonde became one of the most expensive works by an Indian artist sold at an auction. It broke the record set by S. H. Raza’s Tapovan, notes Meera Menezes.

- Meera Menezes

As the hammer came down at Pundole’s September auction on a large untitled oil on canvas from 1974 by Vasudeo Santu Gaitonde, it netted a whopping Rs. 32 crores or $5.02 million. Even in ordinary times the price commanded by the painting, originally estimated at Rs. 15-25 crores, was extraordinary. But doubly so in the midst of a Coronavirus pandemic, with worldwide GDP growth rates plummeting and the Indian economy in the doldrums – factors that normally would have cast a pall on the sale of premier works of art. Clearly, the calculated gamble that the Mumbai-based auction house had taken had paid off, with the work going to a buyer of Indian origin, based abroad.

This was the second auction that Pundole’s had conducted during the pandemic, having tested the waters a month earlier. According to Madiba Pundole, “What is significant about this one is that it broke the psychological barrier of $5 million for an Indian painting. This is the first time that Indian art has broken this barrier in a publicly recorded sale. These are psychological barriers that need to be broken from time to time.” It is perhaps serendipitous that the price was achieved for an artist that Pundole has steadfastly represented ever since they opened the doors of their gallery in the early 1960s.