# Indian art market at ₹3,040 crore driven by modern masters 2026-08-18T02:40:41+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet India's art auction market is becoming a story of price rather than volume, according to the Asign.art Indian Auction Art Market report for January-June 2026 accessed by Mint. Modern art sales rose 43.7% year-on-year to ₹1,548 crore in the first six months, accounting for nearly three-fourths of the market, even as the number of lots sold increased just 3.21% to 2,091. The five top-selling modern masters accounted for 44% of the market: M.F. Husain led at ₹253 crore, followed by Ganesh Pyne at ₹187 crore, F.N. Souza at ₹107 crore, S.H. Raza at ₹97 crore and V.S. Gaitonde at ₹39 crore. The biggest single sale was Raja Ravi Varma’s *Yashoda and Krishna* (1890) which sold for ₹167.2 crore at Saffronart's April sale in Mumbai. Mint reports 83% of lots sold for under ₹50 lakh, but works from the 1950s-70s generated ₹737 crore. Auction houses and critics say supply of high-quality works is tight. Sotheby's September sale will feature Husain's *Mithuna Crimson* from the Chester and Davida Herwitz collection. The second half typically adds 58% of annual turnover, making it crucial for sustaining momentum. ## Coverage - livemint.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: M.F. Husain, Raja Ravi Varma, Saffronart, Sotheby's Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/indian-art-market-at-rs3040-crore-driven-by-modern-masters/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/indian-art-market-at-rs3040-crore-driven-by-modern-masters/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/