Market Intelligence

The Indian Art Market, in One Number.

HIAI is Hacoco's directional benchmark for the Indian secondary art market, built from normalized auction evidence across 57 tracked artists.

227

Index 2025

Last updated October 2026

+24.5%

1Y ReturnSensex -12.9%

+44.0%

3Y ReturnSensex +14.5%

+77.0%

5Y ReturnSensex +23.3%

About HIAI

HIAI is Hacoco's directional benchmark for the Indian secondary art market, built from normalized auction and resale evidence across tracked artists. It is designed to show market movement and liquidity signals, not guarantee the value of any individual artwork. Specific works require comparable-led analysis across medium, period, provenance, condition, rarity, and demand.

Market Regime

Selective Strength

Liquidity View

High in blue-chip names; mixed in thinly traded and weakly documented works

Confidence

Medium-High for tracked artists with auction depth; lower for thinly traded names

YTD

+24.5%

Base 100 in 2015 · 57 constituents · liquidity-weighted, chain-linked

HIAI Performance

Price appreciation index. Base 100 in 2015.

HIAI index

Each annual link is the liquidity-weighted median year-over-year change in constituents' median price-per-cm², chained and rebased so 2015 = 100.

HIAI is a chain-linked return index weighted by trailing auction activity, rebased so 2015 = 100. Artists with thin recent auction records carry minimal weight.

The line ends at 2025, the last complete year. 2026 is in progress (YTD, partial, n=27) and is held off the line until the year closes.

Own work by a tracked artist?

Run a collector-grade valuation using Hacoco's comparable evidence model.

Run valuation

Composition

57 artists

Index composition reflects tracked market evidence and may evolve as liquidity, auction depth, and artist relevance change over time.

Artist	Tier	Weight	Lots	Liquidity
Ram Kumar	Blue Chip	5.0%	308	A+
Krishen Khanna	Blue Chip	5.0%	258	A+
V. S. Gaitonde	Blue Chip	4.6%	194	A+
B. Prabha	Blue Chip	4.6%	284	A+
A. Ramachandran	Established	4.6%	173	A
M. F. Husain	Blue Chip	4.3%	342	A+
F. N. Souza	Blue Chip	4.0%	313	A+
K. H. Ara	Blue Chip	3.5%	114	A+
Jamini Roy	Blue Chip	3.5%	232	A+
S. H. Raza	Blue Chip	3.4%	129	A+
K. G. Subramanyan	Blue Chip	3.4%	174	A+
Jogen Chowdhury	Blue Chip	3.4%	118	A+
Anish Kapoor	Blue Chip	3.1%	204	A+
Paresh Maity	Blue Chip	2.9%	95	A+
Akbar Padamsee	Blue Chip	2.8%	120	A+
Anjolie Ela Menon	Established	2.6%	131	A
Bikash Bhattacharjee	Blue Chip	2.5%	76	A+
Manjit Bawa	Blue Chip	2.5%	59	A+
Ganesh Pyne	Blue Chip	2.4%	97	A+
Amrita Sher-Gil	Blue Chip	2.3%	40	A+
Laxma Goud	Established	2.3%	85	A
K. K. Hebbar	Blue Chip	2.2%	50	A+
Manu Parekh	Established	2.2%	68	A
Tyeb Mehta	Blue Chip	2.1%	51	A+
Paritosh Sen	Blue Chip	2.0%	103	A+
Satish Gujral	Blue Chip	2.0%	56	A+
Anju Dodiya	Blue Chip	2.0%	81	A+
Sakti Burman	Blue Chip	2.0%	89	A+
Laxman Pai	Blue Chip	1.9%	42	A+
Shyamal Dutta Ray	Blue Chip	1.8%	52	A+
Sohan Qadri	Established	1.7%	45	A
Paramjit Singh	Established	1.7%	64	A
Shanti Dave	Established	1.7%	54	A
Sailoz Mookherjea	Blue Chip	1.5%	35	A+
Nandalal Bose	Blue Chip	1.3%	32	A+
Arpana Caur	Established	1.3%	25	A
Jehangir Sabavala	Blue Chip	—	46	A+
Bhupen Khakhar	Blue Chip	—	61	A+
Arpita Singh	Blue Chip	—	31	A+
Subodh Gupta	Blue Chip	—	18	A+
Rameshwar Broota	Blue Chip	—	28	A+
Rabindranath Tagore	Blue Chip	—	24	A+
Nasreen Mohamedi	Blue Chip	—	15	A+
T. V. Santosh	Established	—	43	A
Avinash Chandra	Established	—	79	A
Prabhakar Barwe	Established	—	17	A
Akkitham Narayanan	Established	—	76	A
Badri Narayan	Thinly Traded	—	63	B
Ganesh Haloi	Established	—	36	A
Biren De	Blue Chip	—	27	A+
Jitish Kallat	Established	—	24	A
Zarina Hashmi	Blue Chip	—	19	A+
Bimal Dasgupta	Thinly Traded	—	30	B
Somnath Hore	Established	—	37	A
Lalu Prasad Shaw	Thinly Traded	—	35	B
Thota Vaikuntam	Blue Chip	—	18	A+
Sunil Das	Established	—	29	A

Liquidity grade

A+Very high transaction depthAStrong transaction depthBLimited but usable evidenceCThin or watchlist evidence

Index composition, artist breakdown

Available on Collector, ₹2,999/year and above

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Planning to sell?

Hacoco can help position, price, and privately place important Indian artworks.

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Market Commentary

October 2026

The Indian art market sustained its growth trajectory in October 2026, with auction turnover for the index-eligible universe reaching ₹906.5 crore over the past twelve months. Of the 21 artists with available one-year return data, two-thirds posted positive performance, driving the median one-year return to a robust 17.7%. This reflects continued investor appetite amid a market environment marked by prudent optimism rather than exuberance.

In the blue-chip and established artist segment, demand remained notably resilient, benefiting from both domestic institutional interest and returning non-resident Indian collectors. Pricing stability in this tier was underpinned by disciplined supply management at the five active index-eligible auction houses, which limited volatility and helped maintain buyer confidence in the asset class as a portfolio diversifier.

Emerging and mid-career artists presented a more mixed picture. Although several practitioners delivered standout returns, the overall distribution skewed wider, with seven artists recording negative one-year results. Discerning collectors are increasingly differentiating between promise and realized practice, favouring those whose work balances innovation with growing critical endorsement.

The dominant themes shaping collector behaviour have centred on narrative—particularly works that engage with identity and societal transformation—as well as a renewed focus on provenance and transparency. These factors, coupled with the introduction of broader due diligence standards by auction houses, have led to more informed, data-driven acquisition decisions.

Looking ahead, market signals suggest a period of measured momentum. While macro uncertainties persist, the underlying fundamentals—solid market liquidity, disciplined supply, and informed participation—position Indian art as an increasingly credible alternative investment. Hacoco will continue to monitor shifts in risk appetite and liquidity as the market navigates towards year-end.

Hacoco Market Intelligence · Updated October 2026

Market List

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A private note for collectors, sellers, advisors, and family offices.

Previous Notes

HIAI and related market commentary are informational and directional in nature. They do not constitute investment advice, an offer to buy or sell, or a guarantee of future performance. Art is illiquid, quality-sensitive, and subject to market, provenance, condition, and demand risk.

HacocoValuation Intelligence

Market Intelligence

The Indian Art Market, in One Number.

HIAI is Hacoco's directional benchmark for the Indian secondary art market, built from normalized auction evidence across 57 tracked artists.

227

Index 2025

Last updated October 2026

+24.5%

1Y ReturnSensex -12.9%

+44.0%

3Y ReturnSensex +14.5%

+77.0%

5Y ReturnSensex +23.3%

About HIAI

Market Regime

Selective Strength

Liquidity View

High in blue-chip names; mixed in thinly traded and weakly documented works

Confidence

Medium-High for tracked artists with auction depth; lower for thinly traded names

YTD

+24.5%

Base 100 in 2015 · 57 constituents · liquidity-weighted, chain-linked

HIAI Performance

Price appreciation index. Base 100 in 2015.

HIAI index

Each annual link is the liquidity-weighted median year-over-year change in constituents' median price-per-cm², chained and rebased so 2015 = 100.

HIAI is a chain-linked return index weighted by trailing auction activity, rebased so 2015 = 100. Artists with thin recent auction records carry minimal weight.

The line ends at 2025, the last complete year. 2026 is in progress (YTD, partial, n=27) and is held off the line until the year closes.

Own work by a tracked artist?

Run a collector-grade valuation using Hacoco's comparable evidence model.

Run valuation

Composition

57 artists

Index composition reflects tracked market evidence and may evolve as liquidity, auction depth, and artist relevance change over time.

Artist	Tier	Weight	Lots	Liquidity
Ram Kumar	Blue Chip	5.0%	308	A+
Krishen Khanna	Blue Chip	5.0%	258	A+
V. S. Gaitonde	Blue Chip	4.6%	194	A+
B. Prabha	Blue Chip	4.6%	284	A+
A. Ramachandran	Established	4.6%	173	A
M. F. Husain	Blue Chip	4.3%	342	A+
F. N. Souza	Blue Chip	4.0%	313	A+
K. H. Ara	Blue Chip	3.5%	114	A+
Jamini Roy	Blue Chip	3.5%	232	A+
S. H. Raza	Blue Chip	3.4%	129	A+
K. G. Subramanyan	Blue Chip	3.4%	174	A+
Jogen Chowdhury	Blue Chip	3.4%	118	A+
Anish Kapoor	Blue Chip	3.1%	204	A+
Paresh Maity	Blue Chip	2.9%	95	A+
Akbar Padamsee	Blue Chip	2.8%	120	A+
Anjolie Ela Menon	Established	2.6%	131	A
Bikash Bhattacharjee	Blue Chip	2.5%	76	A+
Manjit Bawa	Blue Chip	2.5%	59	A+
Ganesh Pyne	Blue Chip	2.4%	97	A+
Amrita Sher-Gil	Blue Chip	2.3%	40	A+
Laxma Goud	Established	2.3%	85	A
K. K. Hebbar	Blue Chip	2.2%	50	A+
Manu Parekh	Established	2.2%	68	A
Tyeb Mehta	Blue Chip	2.1%	51	A+
Paritosh Sen	Blue Chip	2.0%	103	A+
Satish Gujral	Blue Chip	2.0%	56	A+
Anju Dodiya	Blue Chip	2.0%	81	A+
Sakti Burman	Blue Chip	2.0%	89	A+
Laxman Pai	Blue Chip	1.9%	42	A+
Shyamal Dutta Ray	Blue Chip	1.8%	52	A+
Sohan Qadri	Established	1.7%	45	A
Paramjit Singh	Established	1.7%	64	A
Shanti Dave	Established	1.7%	54	A
Sailoz Mookherjea	Blue Chip	1.5%	35	A+
Nandalal Bose	Blue Chip	1.3%	32	A+
Arpana Caur	Established	1.3%	25	A
Jehangir Sabavala	Blue Chip	—	46	A+
Bhupen Khakhar	Blue Chip	—	61	A+
Arpita Singh	Blue Chip	—	31	A+
Subodh Gupta	Blue Chip	—	18	A+
Rameshwar Broota	Blue Chip	—	28	A+
Rabindranath Tagore	Blue Chip	—	24	A+
Nasreen Mohamedi	Blue Chip	—	15	A+
T. V. Santosh	Established	—	43	A
Avinash Chandra	Established	—	79	A
Prabhakar Barwe	Established	—	17	A
Akkitham Narayanan	Established	—	76	A
Badri Narayan	Thinly Traded	—	63	B
Ganesh Haloi	Established	—	36	A
Biren De	Blue Chip	—	27	A+
Jitish Kallat	Established	—	24	A
Zarina Hashmi	Blue Chip	—	19	A+
Bimal Dasgupta	Thinly Traded	—	30	B
Somnath Hore	Established	—	37	A
Lalu Prasad Shaw	Thinly Traded	—	35	B
Thota Vaikuntam	Blue Chip	—	18	A+
Sunil Das	Established	—	29	A

Liquidity grade

A+Very high transaction depthAStrong transaction depthBLimited but usable evidenceCThin or watchlist evidence

Index composition, artist breakdown

Available on Collector, ₹2,999/year and above

Upgrade plan

Planning to sell?

Hacoco can help position, price, and privately place important Indian artworks.

Request advisory

Market Commentary

October 2026

Hacoco Market Intelligence · Updated October 2026

Market List

Receive the monthly Indian Art Market Note

A private note for collectors, sellers, advisors, and family offices.

Previous Notes