The Photography Art Market in India

The Photography Art Market in India

April 21, 2008 By Leela Ann Parker

Over the last few years, the Indian market for photography has grown, riding the back of the art boom. Some investors are turning their eyes to photography because they can’t afford the high prices of paintings, sculptures and installations. Other collectors see this as an opportunity to support an art that is, by nature, more realistic and more accessible. Photography connoisseurs say the medium is increasingly looking inward and attempting to chronicle the contradictions and changes of modern India. “Art prices in India and the world over has reached its peak, but not photography,” says Samir Modi, MD of Modi Enterprises, an avid New Delhi-based collector who has bought Raghu Rai and Fawzan Husain photographs. Modi says prices of photographs are still very reasonable. “Even for a photograph by a master such as Raghu Rai, you don’t need to spend too much,” he adds.
Still, the community of photographers, curators and buyers remains tiny—just one network of galleries across the country is exclusively devoted to photo exhibitions. While that makes investing in photographs tricky, it could also be good news for photo enthusiasts who do their homework. “There are a lot of good bargains,” says Peter Nagy, who runs Nature Morte, a New Delhi art gallery. He sells most of his prints abroad and says the Indian market is undervalued. Photography has seen hype before. In the 1970s, art became exorbitantly priced in the US and buyers looked to photography to be able to acquire prints at lower prices. Today, photography is being elevated and coveted in India in the same way, according to Devika Daulet-Singh, director of photography for PhotoInk, a New Delhi-based editorial and production agency. The newness of the market poses a challenge to buyers in India because no formula exists on how prices should be determined. Prints sell for anywhere between Rs20,000 and Rs3.5 lakh, depending on the reputation of the photographer. While prints by iconic photographers such as Raghu Rai and Dayanita Singh can start as high Rs1 lakh, works by upcoming artists can earn up to Rs80,000. “Prices are set when you have several galleries. Right now, we don’t have enough,” says Daulet-Singh. While some art galleries are also selling prints, an established community of galleries selling photography as art does not exist. Tasveer—a network of four galleries promoting contemporary Indian photography in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore—is trying to change that. Shalini Gupta, co-founder of Tasveer, founded in 2006, observes that each city has its own style. For instance, she says, Raghu Rai’s works are well received in New Delhi, while viewers connect with Fawzan Husain’s photographs on Bollywood in Bombay. Ten of Rai’s popular pieces, Migrating Seagulls in Jamuna River, were sold for Rs5 lakh each.