NEW YORK: The past year was another remarkable one for Indian contemporary art on the global scene -- the market remained strong as several auctions attested, and Indian artists made headlines internationally. Here is a monthly review of some of the news and events that were generated during the last twelve months.

The auction market for Indian art alone was worth $150 million in 2006, up from $52 million the year before, according to Sonal Singh, director of Bodhi Art, which is based in New Delhi and also has galleries in Mumbai, New York, and Singapore.

March:

Mar 21st - Christie's held their spring New York auction, and although no works broke the million-dollar mark, prices remained solid for PAG oils on canvas-and did particularly well for their works on paper.

Among the highlights at this auction, MF Husain's Woman with Veena went for $132,000 with the money donated to Pratham UK and NGO charities aimed at eradicating illiteracy in India. Total sales were $8,593,080. Mar 21st - New York City's Tamarind Art and their invited guests marked their one-year anniversary as a full-time gallery with Pinnacle-Progressives, a rare exhibition from the private collection of owners Marguerite and Kent Charugundla.

Featured works in this exhibit were from the Progressive Artists Group. Mar 22nd - At Sotheby's NY, everything was coming up green-as in $15,007,880 for the 172 lots up for bid. A majority of the works, which included miniatures and illustrations, sold at or over their pre-sale estimates, seemingly regardless of the artist or the medium. Mar 24th - Christie's achieved total sales of $8.6 million in its New York auction of modern and contemporary Indian art. A Gaitonde untitled work garnered the highest price at $768,000.

April:

An Artprice survey estimated that contemporary Indian art had made a progression of 480% over the past decade. Not surprisingly, works by FN Souza have appreciated the most dramatically over that period of time. Apr 19th - Tamarind Art Gallery presented a unique exhibition featuring vintage

Bollywood posters from a bygone era. This show, which ran until May 5th, was also in collaboration with India Now, which featured a film series of Indian cinema at MoMA. This film series was sponsored by Marguerite and Kent Charugundla.

May:

May 24th - Indian art sales hit a snag at Sotheby's where more than 38 works were withdrawn from the 166 lots. Works passed included those by V.S.Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta, Raza, Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, and other big names. Younger artists, however, did well. Total sales figures topped out at $5.6 USD.

June:

June 24th - Tamarind Art held an opening reception for Prema Murthu who had a solo exhibition at P.S.1 MoMA. Fuzzy Logic by Prema Murthy was organized by P.S.1 MoMA Director, Alanna Heiss and sponsored by Marguerite and Kent Charugundla.

July:

July 10th - MF Husain was the guest of honor at the opening of Images and Illusions, an art exhibition at Tamarind Art Gallery. July 11th - Sotheby's held a special auction, which was held to raise awareness and funding for the construction of The Kolkata Museum of Modern Art. The mega-project is designated as the first national art museum in India. The auction raised over $1.5 million.

September:

Sept 19th - New York fall Indian art sales kicked off at Sotheby's with no great surprises, as most pieces that were sold came in at their pre-estimated prices. The final total was $6,311,738, just under the estimated low end. Twenty-eight of the available 114 lots (25%) were passed, including big-ticket works by VS Gaitonde, Ram Kumar, FN Souza, and Jogen Chowdhury. Sept 19th - A major exhibition of photography and video art depicting contemporary India opened at Newark Museum in New Jersey. The show, titled "Public Places, Private Spaces:

Contemporary Photography and Video Art", comprised over 100 works by 28 Indian photographers and video artists, reflecting the interior and exterior realities of today's India. The show ran until Jan 6, 2008. Sept 20th - Buyers threw all caution to the wind during Christie's New York auction, which brought in a total of $10,115,050. Of the 110 lots sold, 70% went down the hammer above their pre-sale estimates.

Sept 21st - Indian contemporary art auction at Sotheby's wrapped up the week with mixed results of the 58 lots (featuring mostly the younger generation of Indian artists) up for sale. Just over half the offerings fell into pre-sale estimates or slightly above, with the final take today of $1,818,780. Sept 23rd - New York City was brimming with free Indian music, folk dances and art exhibitions when the Confederation of Indian Industry and Ministry of Tourism organized India@60.

The events, coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly, sought to attract the world's attention to India by portraying its strengths - democracy, diversity and demographics - which have powered the sub-continent's development.

October:

Oct 2nd - 3rd - The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University (Massachusetts) presented "Tiger by the Tail!" featuring work by three generations of contemporary Indian women artists working in a variety of media - painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video and installation. The 17 artists explored Indian issues of feminism, gender, sexuality and the representation of the female.

December:

Dec 5th - 6th -Even as S.H. Raza's "Maha Bindu" fetched $652,000 beating Tyeb Mehta's "Untitled" that sold at $602,500; Saffronart's two-day online auction of Indian art realized a total sale value of about $8 million from 110 lots representing 36 artists.

Dec 6th -9th - Indian contemporary art was among the international works at Art Basel, Miami Beach, Florida. The event, which drew 40,000 people, is the most important art show in the United States, and is a cultural and social highlight for the Americas.

A year-end analysis by the Economic/Indian Times suggests that the modern masters in Indian art have maintained a steady level on the price front, are still attracting healthy demand, and seemed to have stabilized in price, while some second-rung contemporary artists have set new benchmarks in these areas.

Compilation Courtesy: TamarindArt