Resale Rights Of Artists In India

I. Introduction

The Indian art market has seen a considerable boom in the recent years. In fact, last year has been regarded as one of the best years for the Indian art auction market. It is interesting to note that the collective turnover for art sales in India for the financial year 2019 was clocked at Indian Rupees 880.90 Crores. Further, if one was to compare financial year 2020 with financial year 2021, there has been 57.3% jump in the turnover of the Indian art auction market¹. A large portion of such turnover can be attributed to the substantial increase in the resale price of the artwork, which is in part attributable to the growing fame and recognition of the artist with the passage of time, often even posthumously. For instance, the renowned painter Leonardo da Vinci's artwork made in as early as the sixteenth century was sold for United States Dollars 400 Million in the year 2017².