In death, as in life, M F Husain overshadowed his peers. As news of his demise made headlines across India, most people missed the news that on June 10, an Untitled work by Tyeb Mehta was auctioned by Christie’s London for a record Rs 14.5 crore — his highest, and the second-highest price for a work of Indian modern art after S H Raza’s massive Saurashtra fetched Rs 16.5 crore last year. Bought by a European collector, Untitled (Figure on a Rickshaw) was estimated at $1.3-1.95 million; its gavel price at $3.24 million is a pointer not just to the rare quality of his art but a nod also to its rarer availability.
According to some estimates, Mehta might have painted just a twentieth of Husain’s extensive oeuvre, and certainly not more than a tenth, but each of those works is a jewel for which collectors are more than willing to empty their bank vaults. If one were to undertake the odious sq ft for sq ft comparison with his contemporaries, it would be no surprise to see Mehta outperform not just Husain but also Raza, who in the last few years has been the other steadfast performer at auctions and gallery sales, but some of whose works are now being viewed as overpriced for a lack of cohesion between estimated price and quality.
A few days after the Christie’s auction, another Mehta painting, the last that he painted in his iconic Kali series, fetched Rs 5.73 crore at the Saffronart auction — five times more than its estimated price of Rs 1.25-1.75 crore. These are the kind of surprises that warm an auctioneer’s heart, and wallet, but it’s also a pointer to the steadiness with which Tyeb Mehta has delivered in a market that has had its share of ups and downs ever since he opened India’s first million-dollar account with his triptych, Celebration, auctioned for Rs 1.5 crore by Christie’s in 2002.
Within India itself, the critical crore-mark was achieved only in 2005 at a Saffronart sale, but the same year his Gesture was auctioned for Rs 3.1 crore by Osian’s to collector Ranjit Malkani. Till it was broken this month, his own record for the highest-priced work was held for Bulls, auctioned by Christie’s New York for $2.8 million.
What is it about Tyeb Mehta that makes these astounding sums pale against the quality of his work? Art critics point to the somewhat odious comparisons with Francis Bacon, and within the Indian love for detailing to his minimalism, but it is their compelling power and hypnotic appeal that make Mehta’s canvases magical. His Kali and Mahishasura, for instance, point to violence and horror with minimum strokes and a lack of gimmickry, but the fantastic energy and primordial violence of his brushstrokes are potent weapons. His choice of Indian subjects — whether portraying the myths, or street life — never wavered. That he was constantly frustrated with his attempts and destroyed (like Kali?) more than he created could be a pointer to why the market is not flooded with Mehta’s mediocre paintings.
As they become increasingly rarer to acquire, these prices will only get steeper. No wonder collectors are stepping in now to bid several times over their estimates for his paintings. The values might seem extraordinary now, but will only resemble so much loose change in later years as he continues to outperform the market because there simply are no poor quality Tyeb Mehta works out there that could trip his rise and rise at a time of inconsistent investments.
Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated