New Record: M.F. Husain’s Painting Auctioned for ₹118 Crore

M.F. Husain’s Gram Yatra becomes the most expensive Indian painting at ₹118 crore(independent.co.uk)

One of the most significant and largest works from the 1950s by renowned painter M.F. Husain, titled “Gram Yatra”, has been auctioned for over ₹118 crore. This sale has set a new record for the most expensive artwork in modern Indian art history.

Sold at Christie’s auction in New York on March 19, this masterpiece fetched nearly double the price of the previous record-holder, Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1937 painting “The Story Teller”, which was sold for approximately ₹61.8 crore at an auction in Mumbai in 2023.

“Gram Yatra” translates to “village pilgrimage”, a theme considered foundational in Husain’s body of work. The painting represents the diversity and dynamism of a newly independent nation. Created in 1954, it was soon acquired by Leon Elias Volodarsky, a Norway-based physician of Ukrainian origin. Due to this, the artwork remained out of India’s view for a long time.