Dhanvi Rasiklal Shah
DNA
2009
Reporter : Tuli Banerjee
Only in A’bad: Buy MF Husain masterpiece on EMIs!
A great art-affordability concept from the West
arrives in India; masters like Raza, Padamsee
also available
TULI BANERJEE. AHMEDABAD
Art is the newest investment avenue thronging with Gujaratis. Art galleries
in the city wanting to cash in on the trend have borrowed a sale strategy
from the canvas of the masters who market white goods — equated
monthly instalments (EMI), without interest. This means a person with
average income can finally aspire to possess an original of artists like
MF Husain, Akbar Padamsee and SH Raza without having to lose lakhs
from savings at one go.
“We are allowing buyers to pay in instalments. The EMI will depend on
the salary and the paying capacity of the buyer,” said Dhanvi Shah of
Marvel Art Gallery.
Though the gallery will ask for guarantors and legal documents, it
will not charge any interest for the deferred payment.
The instalment period will range from three to six months, and the minimum
payable amount to avail the instalment facility will be Rs10,000.
More than a hundred paintings will be available under the scheme. And
works to be sold through the scheme include those by stalwarts like Husain,
Raza, Haku Shah, Vrundavan Solanki, Shanti Dave, and Padamsee.
Artworks of young and talented artists like Manoj Kachangal, Bansi
Khatri, Harshil Patel and Prexa Kapadia can also be bought on EMI. Appreciating
the initiative of the art galleries, Bharti Verma of Anayas Art Gallery, said,
“There are people who want to buy rare art pieces but cannot afford them.
If an art gallery comes up with instalment scheme, nothing better than that.
After weighing all the pros and cons, I may also introduce the scheme at my
gallery.”
Khanjan Dalal of Lemongrasshopper Art Gallery, said, “Though selling
art pieces by providing the EMI facility is a new phenomenon in India, it
is an old concept in the West. This is indeed good news for the connoisseurs
of art. They can now buy a painting which was beyond their reach till yesterday.”
NOW YOU CAN BUY MF HUSAIN ON INSTALMENTS!
Is the instalment scheme an outcome of the recession?
“It has nothing to do with recession. The
idea is to turn Ahmedabad into a cultural hub and
to make people aware about our culture and encourage
them to buy and understand art,” Dhanvi
said. Art consultant and writer Anupa Mehta is
not too enthused with the ‘art on instalment’
scheme, “Art is not a commodity. It can’t be sold on
the lines of a household product. The success of
this scheme will depend on the quality of art being
sold. Several galleries offer extended credit period
to keep their clients, but an EMI scheme, to
my mind, may be counterproductive.”
