After masterpiece paintings, drawings scale the price wall

KOLKATA: Paintings by master artists have scaled as astronomical heights in the past. But their drawings are catching up too. Drawings by leading artists such as Souza, Padamsee, Ram Kumar and Husain are still priced lower than paintings, but are picking up.

“When the prices of major artists have touched sky high, it is wise to look out for drawings of these artists. Many art connoisseurs maintain that the genius of an artist is reflected in his or her drawings. No wonder, significant drawings by leading European masters sell for sizeable sums at auctions. However, drawings are still affordable in India, though they are gradually climbing up,” an art market source told ET.

Drawings are the prime medium for some artists. For example, Kalighat paintings were based on colour drawings. At the same time, the masterworks of an artist like Jamini Roy consist of a few line drawings. “Jamini Roy, at times, used some of his drawings as reference material; they never came out in the market.

These works, made with just an ink pen, contain the beauty of the larger works which have emerged from them. This series of drawings, which were created by the artist for private consumption, can be quite valuable if they start circulating in the market,” the source said. Kolkata’s Chitrakoot Art Gallery will soon stage a summer study show of Jamini Roy and Kalighat drawings soon.

Featuring in the show will be 45 Jamini Roy paintings, spanning various periods and styles in the artist’s career. In step, the exhibit will showcase around 25 Kalighat works.

“Drawings are distinguished by the lines of each artist which are unique to him or her. The aesthetics in a drawing hinges on these lines. MF Husain, Jogen Chowdhury, Ganesh Pyne, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, Krishen Khanna, Nikhil Biswas, FN Souza and Laxma Goud, to mention some, are famous for their lines,” the source said.

As far as price is concerned, a Tyeb Mehta drawing recently sold for Rs 20 lakh at an auction and a Laxma Goud piece was sold for a price greater than his watercolours. Ganesh Pyne’s major drawings, when they had not become rare, would sell at the price of his temperas. Mr Souza’s drawings on canvas can sell up to Rs 1 crore.

In the same breath, a Jogen Chowdhury canvas drawing went for Rs 85 lakh in the auction. Mr Husain’s horses, revolving around brush drawings on canvas sell above Rs 50 lakh. In the company of these creations are large Nikhil Biswas drawings on packing paper (because the artist could not afford anything else) which are priced over Rs 10 lakh.

Among the old master draughtsmen, one cannot miss the three Tagores, Nandalal Bose, KK Ghosh Dastidar, George Keyt and KK Hebbar. In tandem, popular names in modern times are Lalu Prasad Shaw, Sunil Das and Atul Dodiya.