Christie’s Images Ltd. 2013. An untitled artwork by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde.

We would not know whether to say this news is welcome or not, but we thank India Ink for it nonetheless.  On the one hand we have been inclined to disfavor the hyper-commercialization of art. On the other hand, it seems better to know that Indian artists are now getting their fair economic shake relative to Western artists:

Demonstrating the robust demand for Indian art, Christie’s first auction in India almost doubled its high estimate of $8 million to bring in $15.4 million, or 965.9 million rupees, selling nearly all the works on offer and breaking a number of records for Indian artists.

Among the records broken at the sale, which was held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on Thursday night, was an untitled 1979 work by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde. It went for $3.7 million, or 237 million rupees, which was the highest price for any Indian artwork ever sold, said Dinesh Vazirani, co-founder of Saffron Art. The previous record for an Indian artwork had been set in 2010, when Syed Haider Raza’s “Saurashtra,” sold for $3.5 million at Christie’s in London.

Read the whole post here.