A rare oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, painted by British artist Clare Leighton in 1931 during the Indian leader’s London visit for the second Round Table Conference, sold for GBP 152,800 (Rs 1.75 crore). The oil portrait, believed to be the only one which Gandhi personally sat for, was auctioned at more than double its estimated price.
A rare portrait of Mahatma Gandhi – for which he agreed to pose while seated – has sold for GBP 152,800 (approximately Rs 1.75 crore) at an auction in London, more than double its initial estimate of GBP 50,000 to GBP 70,000 (approximately Rs 57 lakh to Rs 80 lakh). The portrait was painted in 1931 by British artist Clare Leighton.
According to the auction house, Bonhams, the painting is “thought to be the only oil portrait that Gandhi actually sat for”.
“The painting, thought to be the only oil portrait that Gandhi actually sat for, had never before been offered at auction. It had an estimate of GBP 50,000 – 70,000 and was the top lot of the Travel and Exploration sale, which ran from July 7-15 online,” the auction house said in a statement.
The rare oil painting was in Leighton’s personal collection until her death in 1989, after which it was inherited by her family.
The portrait was created during Gandhi’s 1931 visit to London for the second Round Table Conference, a series of conferences organised by the British government to discuss constitutional reforms in India.
Political journalist Henry Noel Brailsford introduced Leighton to Mahatma Gandhi when he visited London in 1931 to attend the Second Round Table Conference. Brailsford supported India’s Independence movement.
