The rare oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, painted in 1931 during his historic visit to London, was sold for £ 152,800 (approximately £1.75 crore) at Bonhams – more than double the estimated price of 50,000 GBP per 70,000 GBP.
The painting created by British artist Clare Leighton is considered the only oil portrait for which Gandhi personally sat. According to Bonhams, it has never been offered before the auction and was the best land on the sale of “travel and survey” held online between 7 and 15 July.
Rare portrait of 1931 Mahatma Gandhi load over £ 152,000 in London auction
The portrait was completed during the participation of Gandhi at the second round of London, where he represented the Indian National Congress to discuss the constitutional reforms for India.
Artist Clare Leighton was introduced by Gandhi by political journalist Henry Noel Brailsford, a well -known advocate of the Indian Independence Movement.
The works of art remained in Leighton’s personal collection until her death in 1989, after which she was handed over to her family.
The portrait carries a complex history; The Leighton family remembered that it could be attacked by an RSS activist during a 1974 public exhibition. The documentation connected to the frame confirms that the painting was restored by the Lyman Allyn Museum Conservation Laboratory in the same year.
It is not the first time that the portrait of Gandhi in the auction won an important prize. In 2017, the rare portrait of Gandhi pencil sold for 32,500 GBP – roughly four times the estimated value.
The sale emphasizes the historical and symbolic value of the rare visual representations of Gandhi, especially those created during critical moments in the Indian struggle for independence.
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