Christie’s held its first London sale of South Asian modern and contemporary art in seven years, achieving £18.9 million ($23.9 million) from a single private collection. All 93 lots sold above their presale estimates, making it the most successful sale of its kind for Christie’s in London. Highlights included Ganesh Pyne’s *The Fisherman* (1979) selling for £3.8 million, ten times its high estimate, and auction records for Abanindranath Tagore and Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar. The sale also featured works by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, with *Untitled* (1971) realizing £2.3 million.
The sale signals a growing global appetite for South Asian art, which has long been undervalued compared to Western counterparts. India has emerged as the strongest performer among Asia’s major art markets, with a 2025 sell-through rate of 89 percent and Mumbai-based AstaGuru reporting 138 percent revenue growth. The results follow Christie’s record $27 million South Asian art sale in New York in March, confirming that the category is gaining momentum on the international stage.