Contemporary Indian Art — The PAG Modernists and the Indian Art Market
Contemporary Indian art — and specifically the works of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) founded in 1947 and the subsequent generations of Indian modernists and contemporary artists — is not covered by the AATA (these works are less than 100 years old and are not Art Treasures-declared).
But they are the most actively traded category of Indian art in the international auction market, and their valuation requires the same specialist knowledge of attribution, condition, market comparables, and forgery assessment that applies to historical Indian art.
The full treatment of the contemporary Indian art valuation methodology is provided at contemporaryartvaluers.com ; here the specific art antiques intersection is addressed.
Get Expert Advice → +91-9999992343The PAG — The Most Commercially Significant Indian Art
The PAG was formed in Mumbai in 1947 by F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, K.H. Ara, H.A. Gade, and S.K. Bakre, with significant subsequent association by V.S. Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta, Ram Kumar, and others.
The PAG’s work — Indian modernism in the context of mid-20th century international abstract and figurative painting — has become the dominant category of Indian art at international auction.
M.F. Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra) sold at Christie’s on 19 March 2025 for ₹119 crore, establishing a new benchmark for Indian art at auction.
Other PAG artists regularly command prices from several crore to tens of crore at Saffronart, AstaGuru, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s South Asian Art sales.
Indian Modernism at Global Auction
The PAG Forgery Problem
The commercial significance of PAG works — particularly Husain and Souza, whose most celebrated works command eight-figure rupee prices — has driven a documented forgery industry.
The PAG forgery problem takes several forms: signatures of major PAG artists added to genuinely contemporary but lesser-artist works; complete fabrications in the style of major PAG artists; and deliberate mislabelling of works by related but lesser-known artists as major PAG works.
The Christie’s Husain ₹119 Crore Benchmark
The sale of M.F. Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra) at Christie’s on 19 March 2025 for ₹119 crore (≈ USD 14 million) is the reference benchmark for the current Indian contemporary art market.
It establishes the apex of the Husain market and provides context for the valuation of other Husain works of comparable scale and period.
Christie’s South Asian Art sale results are the primary comparable database for authenticated PAG works at the top tier of the market.
Second Generation Modernists and Contemporary Artists
The valuation of second generation modernists (Krishen Khanna, Akbar Padamsee, Bhupen Khakhar, Arpita Singh, Gulammohammed Sheikh) and current contemporary artists follows the same specialist framework applied to PAG valuation.
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