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India’s art market expands from entry-level lots to masterpieces
India’s art market is growing at both the affordable and very expensive ends.
In 2025, auction houses offered more than 5,000 artworks and sold about 80% of them.
Many buyers purchased works priced between ₹1 lakh and ₹10 lakh.
Some buyers also bought art costing less than ₹1 lakh.
This suggests that newer and smaller collectors are joining the market.
At the same time, famous paintings by major Indian artists sold for tens or even hundreds of crores.
Paintings made up most of the market’s total value.
The report says this combination is making India’s art market broader and more valuable.
Its figures cover public auctions, not private or primary-market sales.
Indian art auctions recorded ₹2,543 crore in turnover in 2025, the highest level in a decade.
Of 5,059 lots offered in 2025, 4,057 sold, producing an 80% sell-through rate.
The ₹1 lakh–₹10 lakh segment led activity with 1,699 sold lots, while 700 lots below ₹1 lakh also sold.
Paintings generated ₹2,279 crore in 2025, compared with ₹20 crore for drawings and works on paper and ₹6.97 crore for sculptures.
Raja Ravi Varma’s Yashoda and Krishna sold for ₹167.2 crore in April 2026, described as the most expensive Indian artwork sold at auction.
- Who
- Indian artists, collectors, auction houses and buyers, including domestic high-net-worth collectors.
- What
- India’s art auction market broadened across lower-priced works while recording major sales of high-value masterpieces.
- Where
- The reported sales took place at auctions in India and abroad, including Mumbai, New Delhi, New York and London.
- When
- The main market data covers 2025; Raja Ravi Varma’s Yashoda and Krishna sale occurred in April 2026.
- Why
- The report attributes the growth to strong underlying demand and increasing interest from high-net-worth domestic collectors diversifying into art.
Key facts
- 2025 auction turnover
- ₹2,543 crore, up from ₹792 crore in 2015
- Lots offered and sold
- 5,059 offered; 4,057 sold
- Sell-through rate
- 80% in 2025
- Most active price segment
- ₹1 lakh–₹10 lakh, with 1,699 lots sold
- Painting sales
- ₹2,279 crore; paintings represented 47.5% of lots sold
- Highest-priced work cited
- Raja Ravi Varma’s Yashoda and Krishna sold for ₹167.2 crore
- Market coverage
- The report covers public auctions and excludes private sales, primary-market transactions, and unsold or withdrawn lots









