Is that the Raja Ravi Varma? inquires a portly man in a business suit, eyeing The Begums Bath disparagingly. Hes assured that it is. Wheres the signature? he asks. Its under the frame, hes told, and the painting has been authenticated by experts. I want to talk to Neville Tuli, he says, unconvinced. If he wants me to spend 27-36 lakhs by cheque, I want to see the signature.
The Intuitive-Logic II bills itself as the first major exhibition-auction on Indian modern and contemporary art. Thats a tall claim to make considering that thereve been over ten previous auctions on Indian contemporary art in the last decade. But Neville Tuli of HEART (The Tuli Foundation for Holistic Education and Art), the organiser of the show, doesnt believe in false modesty. And hes ensured that this auction will be remembered, if only for the highly unorthodox manner in which buyers are being asked to pay through cheques.
There are two reasons to buy art if youre a respectable member of the moneyed classes. Theres genuine appreciation and its distant cousin, the desire to have your neighbours drooling with envy. And theres the fact that its one of the most honorable tax dodges in the book. Auctions and sales of art tend to fall into line, with only part-payment being made by cheque.
The point is to create benchmarks, says the 36-year-old Tuli, the driving force behind HEART. If paintings are sold at the correct prices, and all payments are received by cheque, then it changes the way in which the Indian art market does business.
The HEART catalogue is a manifesto in disguise. In a major departure from custom, every catalogue contains the reserve price, provenance and previous exhibition history of the works on sale. Theres also a useful compilation of reserve prices for specific paintings put up at nine selected auctions of the past.
Tuli and his team have rounded up 220 lots, of which 140 are being put up for auction, and 73 are up for exhibition sale. A total of 126 Indian artists, past and present, have been represented. The kicker is the quality of the works that are on show: early Husains from the 60s and 70s, three rare works by M F Pithawalla, an unusual Gieve Patel, a fabulous Rameshwar Broota, Jamini Roys, Sunil Dass Flamenco Dancers, to name just a few.
And Tuli has raided several artists personal collections: hes annexed spectacular works by Jogen Chowdhury, Anjolie Ela Menon, and Paritosh Sen, for example. Of the entire corpus of works on display, there are literally just about 20-25 lots that might be under par. With quality art outperforming the stockmarket as an investment (see visual), that adds up to very tempting bait.
But will it be enough to persuade buyers to part with their hard-earned white money? In just two days in Delhi, Tuli managed to sell 14 major exhibition sale works, and received inquiries for over 60 per cent of the works earmarked for auction. He brusquely turns away buyers who hint that adjustments will be necessary. They are referred to Clause 11, which provides a classification of buyers who can avail of sales tax exemptions.
Ive got so used to forking out the black that this is a surprise, says an industrialists wife. Our entire Hore collection was bought in black, from very reputable galleries and dealers. But young Neville isnt charging a purchasers premium, so the paintings I want are reasonably priced. And its such an oddly virtuous feeling, paying everything by cheque!
Not bad at all for a man whose introduction to contemporary Indian art happened just four years ago. It was my birthday, and I was sulking at home because my wife-to-be had forgotten to buy me a present, recalls Tuli. A friend dragged him off to the Artists for HelpAge auction, where he crossly bid for six paintings that nobody else wanted. I thought I might as well find out what Id wasted my money on, he says. That sparked off an intensive crash course in art, and the birth of HEART.
Earlier this year, Tuli released the oddly-titled The Flamed-Mosaic, a mammoth compilation of Indias top artists that was praised and panned in equal measure. People said it was too basic of course it was! It was meant to be an introduction, he says. Now nine thousand copies have been sold, and universities abroad are starting courses because of it! Come again?
There are lots of books on Indian art, Tuli explains impatiently, but until this came along, there was nothing that could serve as a basic textbook.
HEART followed the book release up with The Intuitive-Logic I, an exhibition of paintings held in Mumbai earlier this year. Part deux, however, is likely to create the biggest stir. One year, three major events, exults Tuli. Thats what we were trying to do set an unsustainable pace.
Doubters abound. This is India, darling, says the owner of one of Mumbais top galleries. Ive been doing this job for years and it just cant be done the way Nevilles trying to do it. Hell end up with a bunch of unsold paintings pity, because hes dragged some fabulous stuff out.
HEART has a lot riding on this auction. They are charging the standard 30 per cent fee from the sellers if Tulis judgement of the market is wrong and works return unsold, that means no profits for HEART. If that happens, next years agenda the setting up of a documentation centre, library and educational institution is going to receive a major setback.
Even if it flops, this will have paved the way for more openness, says Tuli firmly. Future auctions will have NO EXCUSE for not publishing prices, provenances, or for not insisting on cheque payments. Its a risk, yes, its a definite gamble. But the doubters, the sceptics, the critics theyll all be silenced on November 25 when three crores worth of paintings are sold and by cheque!
Perhaps Neville Tulis reaching for the sky. But if he can make buyers reach for their chequebooks, hell have changed the way the art market does business.
nilanjana s roy
