He also emphasises that a good work must evoke a strong, lasting feeling
Power Players: Top 50 Artists Generate Over ₹2,226 Crore
A total of 1,881 lots sold at auction mark a robust 2025 for Indian art’s elite
In a rising market, the Top 50 Indian artists generated a total turnover of ₹2,226.8 crore at auction in 2025, re-staking their claim toward the $1 billion mark. They sold 1,881 total lots, achieving an average price of ₹1.18 crore per work.
Topping the leaderboard was M.F. Husain at ₹465.8 crore, followed by Tyeb Mehta at ₹305.4 crore, F.N. Souza at ₹268.1 crore, S.H. Raza at ₹142.1 crore, and V.S. Gaitonde at ₹110.1 crore. The Top 3 alone accounted for ₹1,039.3 crore.
Further down, Jehangir Sabavala reached ₹92.3 crore, J. Swaminathan ₹85.2 crore, Krishen Khanna ₹59.6 crore, Ram Kumar ₹50.3 crore, and Manjit Bawa ₹49.7 crore. Amrita Sher-Gil hit ₹44.7 crore, Bhupen Khakhar ₹34.3 crore, Akbar Padamsee ₹33.8 crore, Anish Kapoor ₹31.1 crore, and N.S. Bendre ₹31.0 crore.
The list continued with Raja Ravi Varma at ₹23.1 crore, Rabindranath Tagore ₹22.6 crore, Ganesh Pyne ₹19.8 crore, and others like K.H. Ara, Arpita Singh, Thota Vaikuntam, Nalini Malani, Somnath Hore, Jamini Roy, and more down to Subodh Gupta.
This scale signals structural robustness, with Modern art leading despite Contemporary growth.
Read the full story in the premiere issue of LuxeTrope, on stands now.
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