A large painting by the Indian Artist M. F. Husain has broken all records for a South Asian Modern artist. This is the first time any artwork has achieved over the $10 million benchmark.
Maqbool Fida Husain is one of India’s most celebrated modern artists. The sale has sent ripples through the art world, underscoring the growing global appreciation for South Asian art. The previous record for an Indian modern artwork was held by Amrita Sher-Gil’s The Story Teller (1937), which sold for $7.4 million at Saffronart in Mumbai in 2023. Husain’s new record nearly doubles that figure, cementing his status as a powerhouse in the oeuvre of modern Indian art.
Untitled (Gram Yatra) is a sprawling, nearly 14-foot-wide canvas that captures the essence of post-independence India through 13 intricately detailed vignettes. Painted in 1954, just seven years after India gained independence, the work reflects Husain’s deep engagement with the country’s cultural heritage, rural life, and evolving identity. It is a fusion of Indian traditions and global modernist influences, making it a pivotal piece in the artist’s canon.
“If you’re looking for a single artwork that defines modern South Asian art, this is it,” said Nishad Avari, Head of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art at Christie’s. “The painting grapples with what it means to be both South Asian and a modern artist.”
In the 1950s, after its creation, Untitled (Gram Yatra) was acquired by Leon Elias Volodarsky, a Ukrainian-born, Norway-based doctor in Delhi, to establish a thoracic surgery training centre for the World Health Organization (WHO). Volodarsky bequeathed the painting to Oslo University Hospital in 1964, where it hung for decades, largely unseen by the art world.
Christie first learned of the painting’s existence a decade ago when they received photographs displayed in the hospital. “Our jaws dropped,” Avari recalled. We knew we had to see it in person.” The painting’s reemergence after 70 years has been hailed as a landmark moment, offering scholars, collectors, and institutions a rare opportunity to engage with this artwork.
Husain’s work is celebrated for its ability to weave diverse cultural influences while remaining deeply rooted in Indian traditions. Untitled (Gram Yatra) is a testament to this synthesis. The painting draws from the tradition of Indian miniature painting, with its rich colour palette and framed vignettes, while also incorporating elements of European modernism.
In the early 1950s, Husain embarked on a series of international travels that influenced his artistic practice. In 1952, he visited China, where he was inspired by the works of painters Xu Beihong and Qi Baishi, whose calligraphic brushwork is echoed in the expressive strokes of Gram Yatra.
A year later, Husain travelled to Europe, where he encountered the works of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee, and Amedeo Modigliani. These influences are evident in the painting’s Cubist-inspired portraits, landscapes, and the whimsical, Klee-like figures that populate the canvas.
Despite these global references, Gram Yatra remains anchored in the Indian experience. The vignettes depict scenes of rural life—farmers tending to their fields, women milking cows, and children playing—capturing a nation’s transition rhythms. Women, in particular, play a central role in the painting, symbolising fertility, creation, and renewal.
“One of my favourite vignettes is the Standing Farmer,” Avari noted. “The farmer is the core element of Indian society, and here he is shown holding up the land—physically and metaphorically.” This imagery, Avari explained, reflects Husain’s focus on the foundational importance of rural India during rapid urbanisation.
The sale of Untitled (Gram Yatra) is a watershed moment for the South Asian art market, signalling its growing prominence on the global stage. “This is a landmark moment and continues the extraordinary upward trajectory of the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art market,” Avari said in a statement.
The painting’s record-breaking sale highlights the increasing institutional and collector interest in South Asian art. In recent years, works by artists such as Amrita Sher-Gil, Tyeb Mehta, and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde have achieved significant prices at auction, reflecting a broader recognition of the region’s artistic contributions.
Proceeds from the sale of Gram Yatra will support the training of future generations of doctors at Oslo University, continuing the legacy of its previous owner, Dr. Volodarsky. For Christie’s, the sale represents the culmination of years of effort to bring the painting back into the public eye.
“The work adds so much depth to our understanding of Husain’s early career,” Avari said. “It highlights his commitment to defining what it meant to be a modern Indian artist—and, in turn, what modern Indian art meant to a nation that had only gained independence seven years earlier.”
As Untitled (Gram Yatra) finds a new home, its record-breaking sale reminds us of the enduring power of art to transcend borders and generations. For Husain, whose prolific career spanned decades and continents, the painting is a testament to his vision of a modern India—deeply rooted in its traditions yet boldly engaged with the world.
“Every time you look at this painting, you find a new story or meaning in one of the vignettes,” Avari said. “It’s a fantastic work, and it deserves to be in an institutional collection where more people can see it and better understand the artist through it.”
The work’s buyer has chosen to remain anonymous,
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