For decades, collecting Indian art had a hereditary grammar—family collections, old-money networks, and museum-approved masters. Now, art fairs, biennales, digital auctions, and online catalogues are opening the market to buyers who may not have inherited a single canvas, but are perfectly happy to acquire one. For young collectors, art is less about the trophy and more about connection. Many of them start off by spending Rs1-10 lakh on a print, a work on paper, and works by emerging artists rather than waiting for museum validation. The numbers are compelling. The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025 found that 74 per cent of its high-net-worth respondents were Millennials and Gen Z. In India, the auction market is widening at both ends: works below Rs5 lakh account for the highest volume of sales, while the Rs5-crore-plus category still generates 40 per cent of turnover, according to Asign Art data reported by Mint.
Arjun Butani, 28, founder of Delhi art gallery Pristine Contemporary, began collecting at 16 despite having no art background. His 25-work collection focuses on emerging South Asian artists, with a recent Nicola Durvasula sketch costing under Rs3 lakh. “It is not just collecting art but collecting what the artist stands for,” he says. “I like to acquire works from artists of my generation.” Sanya Malik, 33, founder of Delhi’s Black Cube Gallery, also began collecting as a teenager. Her collection of nearly 30 works includes a Yashika Sugandh acquired for under Rs10 lakh. “I love her work as they have a sense of naivety that takes one back to childhood,” she says. For Malik, the thrill lies in backing an artist early and following their career rather than simply buying a name.
Auction houses are seeing the shift. Radhika Kerkar, associate director, client relations, Giftex Auctions, says, “What was once a closed ecosystem dominated by legacy industrialist families and seasoned patrons is broadening with the entry of the less intimidated young buyer.” Their tastes, she says, are also less hierarchical. “Their taste is elastic and gravitates towards politically engaged and ideologically resonant art.” At Mumbai’s Todywalla Auctions, owner Malcolm F Todywalla sees the same appetite extending beyond conventional fine art. Vintage coins and paper money, priced between Rs10,000 to Rs5 lakh, are attracting young buyers. “Earlier, our collection was limited to paintings and sculptures. Today, it covers comic books, posters, and other collectibles,” he says. The result is a market that feels less like a closed club and more like a conversation.
For a young collector, the story behind a work can be as seductive as its pedigree—what it says, why it resonates now. Institutions such as India Art Fair, with its Young Collectors’ Programme, are helping turn that curiosity into confidence. The result is a generation less interested in collecting status than in collecting stories—and increasingly willing to put its money where its taste is. It is also a generation discovering that collecting need not begin with deep pockets or established names. Digital platforms, art fairs and accessible galleries are lowering the barriers, making art feel less like an insider’s club and more like a personal choice.