A rare and important oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, painted during his 1931 visit to London, will be auctioned at Bonhams next month. The work, created by British artist Clare Leighton, is believed to be the only oil portrait for which Gandhi sat during his lifetime.
Gandhi, the revered leader of India’s non-violent independence movement, attended the second Round Table Conference in London in 1931 to advocate for Indian self-governance. It was during this time that Leighton was introduced to him through her partner, political journalist Henry Noel Brailsford, and was granted rare access to sketch and paint him.
The portrait remained in Leighton’s private collection until she died in 1989, after which it passed to her family. Caspar Leighton, the artist’s great-nephew, remarked on its historical significance, expressing hope that it might find a home where it can be widely appreciated.
First exhibited at London’s Albany Galleries in November 1931, the painting was accompanied by a charcoal sketch of Gandhi asleep in his office—a moment captured with striking intimacy. Winifred Holtby, the British journalist, described the sketch as depicting “the little man squats bare-headed, in his blanket, one finger raised, as it often is to emphasise a point, his mouth parted for a word that is almost a smile.”
Gandhi’s secretary, Mahadev Desai, later wrote to Leighton, noting that many who saw the oil portrait at the exhibition considered it a strong likeness. Despite its historical importance, the painting disappeared from public view for decades before resurfacing in a 1978 Boston Public Library exhibition.
The work bears traces of a turbulent past—a label on its backing board indicates it was restored in 1974 after reportedly being damaged in a knife attack in the 1970s, allegedly by a right-wing Hindu activist. Gandhi’s legacy remains contentious among some Hindu nationalists, who accuse him of appeasement during the Partition of India. His assassination in 1948 by Nathuram Godse, a right-wing extremist, underscores the enduring divisions surrounding his life and work.
Clare Leighton (1898–1989)
Clare Leighton was a British-American artist, writer, and wood engraver, celebrated for her evocative depictions of rural life and her striking portraits. Born in London, she studied at the Brighton College of Art and later at the Slade School of Fine Art.
Leighton gained recognition in the 1920s and 1930s for her wood engravings, which captured the dignity of labour and the rhythms of the natural world. Her illustrated books, including The Farmer’s Year (1933) and Four Hedges (1935), remain highly regarded for their lyrical craftsmanship.
In 1931, she painted a rare oil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to London for the Round Table Conference. A committed socialist and pacifist, Leighton emigrated to the United States in 1939, where she continued to work as an artist and lecturer. Her later years were spent in Connecticut, where she produced prints, wrote, and taught until she died in 1989.
Leighton’s legacy endures through her finely observed prints, her literary works, and her contributions to the revival of wood engraving in the 20th century.
This July, the portrait will return to the spotlight, offering collectors a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of 20th-century history.
Sale: Travel and Exploration, 7-15 July, bonhams.com | Knightsbridge