Peacock sculptures fly off Delhi art fair shelves

Five pieces by US artist fetch $72,000 at cultural extravaganza

The bright peacocks sparkle in the aisle where booth A8 is located at the ongoing India Art Fair at NSIC Exhibition Grounds.

Three coloured and two white peacocks exemplify the splendour that the national bird exudes, even when in the form of a sculpture. “But I have not yet seen an Indian peacock,” says Clarita Brinkerhoff, the artist.

“At a show of jewellery in Paris, among diamond-encrusted tiaras, there was one peacock feather which caught my attention and I decided to make peacocks,” recalls the sculptor who then photographed and studied the bird before sculpting it. Though the feathers cost her a bomb, her efforts paid off when she heard that all five peacocks on display sold on the day of VIP preview itself.

While the small peacock went for  $10,000, the blue ones cost $15,000 each and the white ones $16,000 each. The sculptures have a fine detailing of stones and real feathers for the tail.

“The white one is expensive because its feathers come from the albino peacock which is very expensive to source,” she adds.   

Clarita is participating with her husband, Jorje Brinkerhoff, the gallerist at Brinkerhoff & Co. Fine Art, Florida, USA.

He says they had wanted to participate in this fair for the last five years but managed to make it only now.

The interest of the gallerist is surprising, considering that the fair is not as old as other international fairs across the world. “We have been fascinated about India, especially its food,” he says with a short laugh.

“India is becoming a superpower. What we saw happening in China 18 years back, is happening in India now, which will have its effects on the art scene too.”

Coming back to the peacocks which have garnered the American couple some publicity at the fair, Clarita  exclaims, “We will finally get to see Indian peacocks on our trip to Agra!”