When India was celebrating its 50th year (1997) of Independence, a collection of paintings of Indian artists whose works were displayed in the Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan, were brought to India for a unique exhibition called Image- Beyond Image. The exhibition was brought to India by the founder of the Glenbarra Art Museum Mr. Masanori Fukuoka, an avid collector of contemporary Indian art. Before this exhibition took place, the position of Indian contemporary art was virtually negligible in the world scenario. The artists of this exhibition too were virtually unknown abroad, except a few. However, with this exhibition an important landmark journey started, whereby these very artists such as Akbar Padamsee, Arpita Singh, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Biren De, Francis Newton Suza, Ganesh Haloi, Ganesh Pyne, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Hari Ambadas Gade, Jagdish Swaminathan, Jogen Chowdhury, J. Sultan Ali, Kartick Chandra Pyne, Krishen Khanna, Laxma Goud, Manjit Bawa, M. F. Husain, Rajendra Dhawan, Ram Kumar, Rasik Dugashankar Raval, Satish Gujral, Sayed Haider Raza, Shyamal Dutta Ray, Tyeb Mehta and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde began to be sought after, as top Indian contemporary artists with their works getting recognition internationally. This led to the creation of a ripple effect in the value of their painting escalating in the growth curve.

According to the market reports and the auction houses M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza are among the top few living artists to have clocked the highest sales numbers at auctions in the first six to seven months in 2006. Amongst the other high end artists, Ram Kumar and Akbar Padamsee are very much favoured. Among Bengal's own modern masters, Ganesh Pyne has touched $300,000 plus till mid 2006 where as Jogen Chowdhury's rise has attained a value of $370,000 plus in 2006. The graph is rising every year and it would not be long before some more painters join the million club.

The following report from the international auction market will give you a fair idea about the above artists whose works of art are steadily gaining value.