About 70 years ago, legendary artist MF Husain (Maqbool Fida Husain) created a 14-foot-long masterpiece, an untitled work (Gram Yatra) that was a consignment 13 years in the making. On March 19, it sold for an impressive amount at a New York auction in the Rockefeller Center, setting the record as the most expensive modern Indian artwork ever sold, according to Christie’s.
The sale nearly doubles the previous record-holder of the title, Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1937 The Story Teller, which was sold for about $7.4 million (Rs 61.8 crore) at an auction in Mumbai in 2023. While the British auction house stated that the piece went to an “unnamed institution”, a blog post by writer and editor John Elliott suggests that it was bought by renowned art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar. Here’s all you need to know about the artwork, and how much it sold for.
MF Husain’s painting surpasses Amrita Sher-Gil’s Rs 61.8 Crore The Story Teller to become India’s most expensive artwork; Here’s how many Crores it sold for
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What does Untitled (Gram Yatra) display? Christie’s describes the artwork as follows: “Drawing from the tradition of Indian miniature painting, the present painting features a rich colour palette and framed vignettes. Each of the 13 scenes offer a glimpse into village life, reflecting key themes that recur throughout Husain’s visual lexicon”. However, it certainly reflects a host of global influences that inspired the late Indian artist, such as China’s Xu Beihong and Qi Baishi’s calligraphic brushwork and the Cubist-styled portrait that’s reminiscent of the works of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and other European visionaries.
Untitled (Gram Yatra) which spans 14 feet and 13 vignettes, with each panel portraying a scene from the country’s rural ecosystem. In one, women are depicted milking cows, milling grain, riding carts and caring for children — symbolising fertility, creation, and renewal, while another of a standing farmer holding up the land stresses on the agricultural foundation of India.
The painting left India the same year it was completed — 1954 — after being acquired by Ukrainian-born Norway-based doctor Leon Elias Volodarsky, following which he bequeathed the painting to Oslo University Hospital in 1964. It veered away from the public eye for the next few decades.
How much did Untitled (Gram Yatra) sell for?
Untitled (Gram Yatra) has widely been considered among Husain’s best artworks, and now, his most profitable one too. On Wednesday, the painting sold for an impressive $13.8 million (Rs 118 crore), marking a pivotal moment for both South Asian art, and the legacy of the celebrated artist. Before this, the artist’s most expensive artwork was Untitled (Reincarnation), which sold for $3.1 million (Rs 26 lakh) in London last year.
