A rare oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, believed to be the only one he ever sat for, has fetched 1.63 crore (approx £1,52,800 or $204,648) at a Bonhams auction in London, more than double its pre-sale estimate.
The painting, by renowned British artist Clare Leighton, was created in 1931, during Gandhi’s visit to London for the Second Round Table Conference, which sought to discuss India’s constitutional future under British rule.
Bonhams had originally valued the artwork between 53 lakh and 74 lakh (between £50,000 and £70,000), but it ended up as the top lot in the auction house’s Travel and Exploration sale.
“Thought to be the only oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi, which he sat for, this was a very special work,” said Rhyanon Demery, Bonhams’ Head of Sale. “It is no wonder that this work sparked such interest across the globe.”
A historic sitting with the Gandhi
Clare Leighton, best known for her wood engravings, was reportedly one of the few artists granted permission to paint Gandhi from life. Bonhams says she was introduced to Gandhi through her then-partner Henry Noel Brailsford, a left-wing journalist and vocal supporter of Indian independence.
Leighton spent several mornings sketching Gandhi at his London quarters, capturing him in his iconic seated pose — wrapped in his shawl, bare-headed, one finger raised mid-conversation.
The resulting portrait was exhibited in November 1931 at the Albany Galleries in London. While Gandhi did not attend, the show drew dignitaries, Members of Parliament, and key figures from the Indian delegation, including Sarojini Naidu and Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas.
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Writer Winifred Holtby, who attended the exhibition, described the portrait in vivid terms: “The little man squats bare-headed, in his blanket, one finger raised… his lips parted for a word that is almost a smile. That is very much as I saw him when he came as guest to a big luncheon in Westminster.”
In a letter written shortly after the exhibit, Gandhi’s secretary Mahadev Desai wrote to Leighton:
“It was such a pleasure to have had you here for many mornings doing Mr Gandhi’s portrait… many of my friends who saw it in the Albany Gallery said it was a good likeness.”
Hidden for decades
The painting remained with Leighton until her death in the US in 1989, after which it was passed down through her family. According to them, the portrait was attacked with a knife in 1974 while on public display and was later restored by the Lyman Allyn Museum Conservation Laboratory.
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The portrait was not publicly exhibited again until a Boston Public Library showcase of Leighton’s work in 1978.
Bonhams has not disclosed the identity of the buyer or whether the painting will be made accessible to the public in the future.
(With inputs from PTI)
