Expert Insights on India’s Luxury Art Market, Prices and Trends

Clearly, this is not for everyone but art has always been an interesting asset class, especially for ultra-high net worth individuals. Essentially, this is usually beyond the reach of affluent people also, according to advisors.

“In the ultra-wealthy section, this is savoured both as a passion and as an investment. Unless your portfolio has a Rs 100 crore bandwidth, this may not be possible,” said Shalini Sekhri, chief growth officer at Renaissance Investment Managers. 

The sense of luxury attached to art roots from the concept of art being high up on the needs of hierarchy.

“Not even a lot of wealthy people have access to art. Only the super affluent have access,” said Joseph. As things stand, only a very small section accesses this market in India.

“(The) issue with art was liquidity. Because of the low volume of trade, there is a certain amount of circulation that needs to happen for art to appreciate. It’s about demand and liquidity at a higher price,” he said.

When a person makes an investment, the objective is to make maximum returns. However, in this space, that is not always the case, as the people who can afford to access it are not necessarily chasing returns.