In the recent years Indian art has seen a wider market on Foreign shores. The main buyers of Indian art have been the UK, France and Italy. Indian art, tradition and culture has always fascinated the western world.

 In July 2008, Bulu Imam, his wife Philomena Tirkey Imam, their daughter Juliet Imam and their close friend the village artist Putli Ganju flew to Italy to showcase some of the art forms of the Jharkhand tribes. This indigenous art that is given scant attention in India travelled to Rome and found many takes there. Over 100 replicas of the traditional wall and cave painting of Sohrai and Kohvar, produced on mud treated cloth and paper along with three life size murals were on display in a show at the Luigi Pigorini National Museusm of Prehistory and Ethnography in Rome.

World famous art houses like Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams in London and France’s Artcurial have auctioned many Indian paintings ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 and more.

Works of Indian artist like E.N. Souza, M. F. Hussain, K. H. Ara, S.H. Raza, H.A. Gade and S. K. Bakre have seen many buyers. Well know contemporary artist Subodh Gupta swung a world record at a sale of Indian modern and contemporary art in Paris by French auction house Artcurial. Gupta’s Vehicle for the Seven Seas fetched Euros 502,330 ($785,243). The price was three times the presale estimate of Euros 140,000 to 180,000.

Another renowned Paris based Indian painter Sakti Burman sees a buoyant future for Indian art in Europe as Indian art is gaining increased visibility in these regions. Indian Artists who have been living in Paris for long enjoy greater visibility and a bigger slice of the European market for Indian art. Indian artists have found a rise of 300-400% in the European circuit over the past few years.

“Off and on, Europeans of various categories acquire Indian art. This covers the French, Belgian, Germans and the Swiss. Some may be buying for the love of it and others as an investment proposition. There are also 4-5 Indian solo shows every year. Galleries in France also come up with proposals to acquire Indian art. Some French collectors and dealers also travel to India to interact with galleries and artists and explore buying possibilities. This is just the beginning. If the French and European economies grow, Indian art could gain a stronger foothold in these locales,” said Mr. Burman.

Up coming and second generation artists like Bhupen Khakhar, Jogen Chowdhury, Rameshwar Broota, Arpita Singh, Gulam Mohammad, Nilima Sheikh, Manu and Madhvi Parekh, Ganesh Pyne, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Sudhir Patwardhan, Anjolie Ela Menon, A. Ramachandran and Prabhakar Kolte have also found a place in the Indian art market.