Photo: Bonhams auction house
India-West News Desk
LONDON- A unique oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi will be sold at a auction here next month. This portrait, painted in 1931, is thought to be the only time Gandhi actually sat for an oil painting.
The painting was created by British-American artist Clare Leighton. Auction house Bonhams will offer it online from July 7 to 15.
Caspar Leighton, the artist’s great-nephew, told AFP that the painting is a “likely hidden treasure.” This will be its first time at auction, and experts believe it could sell for between $68,000 to $95,000.
Clare Leighton met Gandhi in London in 1931. At that time, Gandhi was in the city for important discussions with the British government about India’s future. Leighton was part of London’s artistic groups and was introduced to Gandhi by her partner, journalist Henry Noel Brailsford.
After the painting was shown in London in November 1931, Gandhi’s personal secretary, Mahadev Desai, confirmed its accuracy in a letter to Clare Leighton. A copy of this letter is still with the painting.
The artwork also carries a grim reminder of Gandhi’s violent death. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist. According to the Leighton family, the painting itself was later attacked with a knife by a “Hindu extremist,” believed to be an activist from the RSS organization, in the early 1970s.
While there are no official documents about the attack, a label on the back of the painting confirms it was restored in the United States in 1974. Under special UV light, one can still see the faint outline of a deep cut across Gandhi’s face where the damage occurred.
