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Prabhakar Barwe — featured artwork

Introduction

Date of Birth
16 Mar 1936
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Date of Death
06 Dec 1995
Age
59
Place of Birth
Nagaon, Maharashtra, India
Place of Death
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Spouse(s)
Neera p barve
Children
Kumar p barve
State Country of Birth
Maharashtra, India
State Country of Death
Maharashtra, India

Exhibitions

  1. 1961

    1. Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
  2. 1963

    1. Book Bay Gallery, Wisconsin, USA
  3. 1967

    1. Taj Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
  4. 1968

    1. Taj Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
  5. 1969

    1. 5th International Young Artists Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
    2. Art of India and Iran, USA
    3. Man and His World, Indian Pavilion, Montreal, Canada
  6. 1970

    1. Indian Painters, Gallery Coray, Zurich, Switzerland
    2. Indian Painters, Hamburg, Germany
    3. Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
  7. 1971

    1. 2nd International Triennale, Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India
    2. Gallery Chanakya, New Delhi, India
  8. 1972

    1. Inaugural Exhibition, Gallerie Surya, Freinsheim, West Germany
  9. 1973

    1. Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, India
  10. 1975

    1. 3rd International Triennale, Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India
    2. Inaugural Exhibition, Grey Art Gallery, New York, USA
  11. 1976

    1. National Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India
    2. International Biennale, Menton, France
  12. 1977

    1. Pictorial Space: A Point of View on Contemporary Indian Art, Curated by Geeta Kapur, Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India (14 December - 03 January)
  13. 1978

    1. 4th International Triennale, Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India
20 of 91

Chronicled Highlights 241969 – 2023

Prabhakar Barwe was born in 1936 in Nagaon, Maharashtra, India.

1969
Public Auction HighPainting
Christie's · Twentieth Century Indian ArtLondon · 02 June 1998

In 1998, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Ethereal Transition (1969), offered in the Twentieth Century Indian Art by Christie's, which concluded on 02 June 1998 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹2,20,135 ($5,277). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Ethereal Transition, 1969 | Painting
Selling price
INR2,20,135
Within estimate
Estimate
INR 2,05,095 – 3,41,825
Rate per sq in
INR 85.35
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
53.7 × 48 in (137 × 122 cm)
Lot
92 · Ch.Lon/02.06.98
1970
Public Auction HighPainting
Osian's · Forty Masterpieces Museum Quality Series VIIMumbai · 09 September 2006

In 2006, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1970), offered in the Forty Masterpieces Museum Quality Series VII by Osian's, which concluded on 09 September 2006 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹48,00,000 ($103,739). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Untitled, 1968-1970 | Painting
Selling price
INR48,00,000
28% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 30,00,000 – 37,50,000
Rate per sq in
INR 719
Medium
Acid colour on dupion silk stitched on cloth
Dimensions
82.7 × 80.7 in (210 × 205 cm)
Lot
34 · Os.Mum/09.09.06
1976
Public Auction HighPainting
Saffronart · Summer Online Auction: Modern and Contemporary Indian ArtOnline · 12 May 2005

In 2005, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Ivory Eyes (1976), offered in the Summer Online Auction: Modern and Contemporary Indian Art by Saffronart, which concluded on 12 May 2005 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹17,50,100 ($40,418). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Ivory Eyes, 1976 | Painting
Selling price
INR17,50,100
126% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 6,45,000 – 7,74,000
Rate per sq in
INR 1,352
Medium
Enamel on canvas
Dimensions
36 × 36 in (91 × 91 cm)
Lot
68 · Sa.Onl/12.05.05
1982
Public Auction HighPainting
Christie's · Indian and Southeast Asian Art: Including 20th Century Indian PaintingsNew York · 17 September 2003

In 2003, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Ancient River (1982), offered in the Indian and Southeast Asian Art: Including 20th Century Indian Paintings by Christie's, which concluded on 17 September 2003 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹4,11,595 ($8,959). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Ancient River, 1982 | Painting
Selling price
INR4,11,595
28% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 2,29,700 – 3,21,580
Rate per sq in
INR 271
Medium
Enamel
Dimensions
42 × 36.1 in (107 × 92 cm)
Lot
191 · Ch.NeY/17.09.03
1983
Public Auction HighPainting
Saffronart · Modern Indian Paintings: Summer Online AuctionOnline · 06 May 2004

In 2004, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Silent Observer (1983), offered in the Modern Indian Paintings: Summer Online Auction by Saffronart, which concluded on 06 May 2004 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹8,46,071 ($18,932). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Silent Observer, 1983 | Painting
Selling price
INR8,46,071
41% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 5,16,000 – 6,02,000
Rate per sq in
INR 563
Medium
Enamel on canvas
Dimensions
36 × 41.7 in (91 × 106 cm)
Lot
70 · Sa.Onl/06.05.04
1984
Public Auction HighPainting
Christie's · Indian Contemporary ArtLondon · 04 June 1997

In 1997, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of On the Shore (1984), offered in the Indian Contemporary Art by Christie's, which concluded on 04 June 1997 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹1,75,020 ($4,892). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). On the Shore, 1984 | Painting
Selling price
INR1,75,020
Below low estimate
Estimate
INR 1,75,605 – 2,92,675
Rate per sq in
INR 61.13
Medium
Enamel on canvas
Dimensions
48 × 59.6 in (122 × 151 cm)
Lot
165 · Ch.Lon/04.06.97
1986
Public Auction HighPainting
Pundole · The Fine Art Sale: Including the Property from the Collections of Neerja and Mukund Lath and Dilip DeMumbai · 13 September 2022

In 2022, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Withered Leaf (1986), offered in the The Fine Art Sale: Including the Property from the Collections of Neerja and Mukund Lath and Dilip De by Pundole, which concluded on 13 September 2022 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹3,50,00,000 ($439,788.55). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Withered Leaf, 1986 | Painting
Selling price
INR3,50,00,000
192% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 80,00,000 – 1,20,00,000
Rate per sq in
INR 17,990
Medium
Enamel paint on canvas
Dimensions
47.2 × 41.2 in (120 × 105 cm)
Lot
38 · Pu.Mum/13.09.22
1987
Image 1/2
First Auction Appearance | BOOK.AUCPainting
Christie's · Contemporary Indian Art (Charity Auction)Mumbai · 20 December 1987

On 20 December 1987, Prabhakar Barwe made their debut in the Indian public auction market when Near the Lake was presented as Lot 4 in Contemporary Indian Art (Charity Auction), conducted by Christie's in Mumbai, India. This auction marked the artist's first recorded appearance in the public auction market, establishing the earliest chapter of their auction history.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Near the Lake, n.d. | Painting
Medium
Enamel paint on canvas
Lot
4 · Ch.Mum/20.12.87
1988
Public Auction HighPainting
Saffronart · Winter Online Auction: Modern Indian PaintingsOnline · 04 December 2003

In 2003, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Rare Bird With Blue Egg (1988), offered in the Winter Online Auction: Modern Indian Paintings by Saffronart, which concluded on 04 December 2003 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹6,36,363 ($13,949). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Rare Bird With Blue Egg, 1988 | Painting
Selling price
INR6,36,363
Within estimate
Estimate
INR 6,25,000 – 7,25,000
Rate per sq in
INR 222
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
48 × 59.8 in (122 × 152 cm)
Lot
62 · Sa.Onl/04.12.03
1988
Literary ReferencePainting
DeRivaz & Ives · Indian Modern Fine ArtsOnline · 22 January 2022

Every component of a painting, be it form or colour, in a way gets transformed into space. That is to say that they (the components) get synthesized with the homogenous visual result of the painting space. In the process of such transformation, colour or form gets detached from its restricted ‘actual-meaning-context’. And, from this alone, the visual result of the painting in totality is born. In my paintings such ‘result’, I feel, is abstract. However, this abstract visual result is created by the synthesis of various concrete components of the painting. For example, it seems to me that in the painting ‘The Chair and the Leaf’, the visual experience that is created by the synthesis of its several concrete components, is like a thoughtfree space of the mind, or like an undivided, unruffled mental state. At least, such visual experience is ‘expected’ by me from my paintings.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Elements of Kitchen, 1988 | Painting
Selling price
INR1,34,40,000
Below low estimate
Estimate
INR 1,50,00,000 – 2,25,00,000
Rate per sq in
INR 7,778
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
36 × 48 in (91 × 122 cm)
Lot
26 · De.Onl/22.01.22
1988
Literary ReferencePainting
DeRivaz & Ives · Indian Modern ArtOnline · 30 July 2022

Barwe had an agenda that he followed through his work: the agenda of rendering possible the creation of an art that could validate its affiliations at the levels of being both authentic in its own history, and contemporaneous in the sense of transcending the commonly assumed opposition of tradition and modernity, of representation and abstraction. In fact, a work by Barwe at first glance seems to be a collection of carefully drawn, identifiable objects strewn about in a space the definition of which is never made clear. The viewer is made then, to embark upon a itinerary of her/ his own, through this configuration of boundless spaces and scattered objects, entering into a process of recreating the meanings suggested within the work; the process that engenders a renewed questioning of conventionalized expression, leaving the participant enriched.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). Being of Power, 1988 | Painting
Selling price
INR1,79,20,000
Below low estimate
Estimate
INR 2,00,00,000 – 3,00,00,000
Rate per sq in
INR 5,715
Medium
Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions
40.2 × 78 in (102 × 198 cm)
Lot
25 · De.Onl/30.07.22
1989
Public Auction HighPainting
Asta Guru · Modern Indian ArtOnline · 16 July 2020

In 2020, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of First Cloud (1989), offered in the Modern Indian Art by Asta Guru, which concluded on 16 July 2020 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹1,19,31,214 ($158,571.2). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Barwe, Prabhakar (Artist). First Cloud, 1989 | Painting
Selling price
INR1,19,31,214
165% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 40,00,000 – 45,00,000
Rate per sq in
INR 4,339
Medium
Enamel on canvas
Dimensions
47 × 58.5 in (119 × 149 cm)
Lot
14 · AG.Onl/16.07.20
12 of 24

Economics of Art

Public Auction Market (1987–2026) | Select Indicators

  1. Annual Auction Sale Turnover
  2. Average Sale Price Per Lot
  3. Square Inch Rate Trend
Currency

Annual Auction Sale Turnover

This indicator tracks the Total Annual Auction Sales value of Prabhakar Barwe’s artworks, beginning in 1987 through to the present.
It aggregates all sales across global auction houses into yearly totals.

Analysis reflected in the chart:
The turnover graph highlights periods of strong growth, moments of market correction, and resilience during downturns. Peaks often align with landmark works coming to public auction, while troughs may indicate reduced supply or weaker demand. Over time, the curve illustrates the overall trajectory of Prabhakar Barwe’s public auction market presence.

Average Sale Price Per Lot

This measure calculates the Average Sale Price of all lots by Prabhakar Barwe sold each year.
It smooths out fluctuations caused by the quantity of works offered and focuses on the Average Sale Price level per artwork.

Analysis reflected in the chart:
Rising average sale prices indicate growing collector confidence and a stronger willingness to pay higher amounts per work. Assuming the mix of mediums remains relatively stable over time, the proportion of works on paper typically priced lower than works on canvas adds important context to understanding these market movements.

Square Inch Rate Trend

The Square Inch Rate normalizes prices by the size of each artwork, showing the average sale value per square inch over time.
This allows fair comparisons between smaller works and larger canvases.

Analysis reflected in the chart:
The Square Inch Rate shown in the graph combines various medium types such as canvas, paper, board, and others. Historically, works on canvas and board have broadly commanded higher prices compared to works on paper.

Research Centre

Posts 1

  1. Prabhakar Barwe's "Blown Hourglass"
    Barwe's 1980 enamel on canvas artwork, "Blown Hourglass" has witnessed remarkable financial dynamics through its journey spanning over 21 years across three distinctive auctions. The journey commenced in 1999, when the painting first graced the auction floor of Christie's London, fetching a sum of Rs 215,496. A short leap of five years took it to Christie's New York in 2004, where it's value almost doubled, securing Rs 481,286. Sixteen years thereafter, the artwork made a resounding comeback in 2020 at a Sotheby's New York auction. Here "Blown Hourglass" fetched Rs 7,427,230, reflecting a notable appreciation in its market value since its debut. The 21-year span between its first and latest auction highlights a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.36%, shedding light on the escalating allure and investment potential of Barwe's "Blown Hourglass" and his other notable works.

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