An oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi is going up for auction in London. It is widely considered to be the only portrait Gandhi posed for in his lifetime. Painted in 1931 by British artist Clare Leighton, the artwork is expected to fetch between £50,000 and £70,000 (roughly ₹58 to ₹81 lakh) when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams on July 11.
This painting is believed to be one-of-a-kind, as it was done while Gandhi was alive and created during multiple sittings. “There is nothing comparable to this painting in existence,” said Rhyanon Demery, head of sales at Bonhams.
How Did Leighton Get The Opportunity To Paint Gandhi??
Leighton painted Gandhi during his visit to London in 1931, when he was attending the Second Round Table Conference. She got the chance to meet him through her close friend Henry Noel Brailsford, a British journalist and supporter of Indian independence. Brailsford had visited India in 1930 and authored Rebel India. Due to Brailsford, Leighton was allowed to sit with Gandhi several times and became one of the very few artists permitted into his workspace.
History Of The Portrait
The portrait was first exhibited in November 1931 at Albany Galleries in London. A month later, Gandhi’s secretary, Mahadev Desai, wrote to Leighton thanking her. The back of the painting still holds a copy of this letter, which reads: “It was such a pleasure to have had you here for many mornings doing Mr Gandhi’s portrait.”
The painting was publicly shown again in 1974 but reportedly suffered damage in a knife attack. While no solid evidence supports this, the catalogue mentions signs of restoration consistent with torn areas. A label on the back shows it was restored at the Lyman Allyn Museum Conservation Laboratory in 1974.
Now, decades later, this historical portrait returns to public attention as it heads for its first-ever auction.
