Subodh Gupta "Untitled" (2006) sold for $184,000

By Mackie Healy, Art Market Views, Contributor

The online art fair model needs some refinement, but the web is bringing in big bucks via auction.

Saffronart, an online Indian art auctioneer, tested out a new blitz 24-hour sale format last week, reaping $746,403 for 49 contemporary works. Results exceeded the presale low estimate of $578,590, with 82% of 60 lots selling.

The auction was the first in a new series of quickie 24-hour sales of Indian art, featuring focused, smaller sales of modern and contemporary Indian art. Bidding took place online on Saffronart’s website, or via a mobile bidding application created for iPhones, Blackberrys, iPads and the like.

Saffronart’s online auctions typically last two or three days. The 24-hour sale ran Feb. 2-3.

A 2006 Subodh Gupta painting was the top lot fetching $184,000. The canvas depicts a cluttered Indian shop, filled with metal pots, buckets, cardboard and an ancient taraju or weighing scale. It was estimated to sell for $150,000 – $200,000.

Other top lots included an sculpture of a gilded female head by G. Ravinder Reddy, which went for $140,875, and Jyothi Basu’s colorful figurative canvas, Invasion (2006), fetching $60,375.

The Top Ten (U.S. prices are Saffronart’s official conversion from Indian rupee) :

1. Untitled by Subodh Gupta (2006) $184,000 (est. $150,000 – $200,000)
2. Untitled by G. Ravinder Reddy  $140,875 (est. $80,000 – $100,000)
3. Invasion by Jyothi Basu (2006) $60,375 (est. $45,000 – $55,000)
4. Stammer in the Shade-V by Atul Dodiya $55,776 (est. $25,000 – $35,000)
5. A Chanced Meeting Between Nukata No Okimi and Serendipitious Yayavar by Rekha Rodwittiya $27,025 (est. $15,000 – $20,000)
6. Systematic Citizen – XV by Riyas Komu $26,933 (est. $15,910 – $20,455)
7. Algae Shiva (Shiva by the Sea) by Anju Dodiya $17,930 (est. $9,095 – $13,640)
8. Untitled by Jagannath Panda $16,790 (est. $11,265 – $15,910)
9. Remembering Ekalavya by Anita Dube $12,075 (est. $3,410 – $4,550)
10. Rope Swing – Blue by Vasundhara Tewari $11,535 (est. $9,095 – $11,365)

G. Ravinder Reddy "Untitled" polyester, resin, fiberglass, painted and gilded, sold for $140,875

Jyothi Basu "Invasion" (2006) oil on canvas, sold for $60,375