Rare oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi fetches over ₹1.67 cr at London auction

A rare 1931 oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi by Clare Leighton sold in London for ₹1.67 crore and is thought to be the only oil portrait Gandhi sat for

A rare oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi has been sold at a London auction for $204,648 (₹1.67 crore), reported BBC. Bonhams, the auction house, stated the artwork is believed to be the only oil portrait for which Gandhi ever sat.

 

According to the report, the portrait sold for significantly more than Bonhams’ original estimate of $65,000–$91,000

 

Who painted Mahatma Gandhi's portrait?

 

British artist Clare Leighton painted the portrait during Gandhi’s 1931 visit to London for the second Round Table Conference. Bonhams noted that Leighton was among the few artists granted access to Gandhi’s office and permitted to sketch and paint him on multiple occasions.

 

Following Leighton’s death in 1989 in the US, the painting remained within her family. She was introduced to Gandhi through her partner, British journalist Henry Noel Brailsford, an advocate of Indian independence. 

 

Exhibited only twice since its creation

 

Leighton first exhibited her Gandhi portraits at the Albany Galleries in London in November 1931. The oil portrait was not shown publicly again until 1978, when the Boston Public Library featured it in a retrospective exhibition of her works, alongside a charcoal sketch of Gandhi. However, according to the artist’s family, the portrait is believed to have been exhibited in the US during the 1970s, where it was reportedly damaged in a knife attack.