MF Husain’s Gram Yatra smashes all Indian painting records with $13.75 million sale at Christie’s in New York

An untitled work (Gram Yatra) of celebrated artist MF Husain, largely unseen since its creation more than 70 years ago, has become the most expensive modern Indian painting to be sold, fetching $13.75 million at an auction in New York on Wednesday evening.

Christie’s, the global auction house, said the painting set a record for both Indian art and the artist and was bought by an institution that it did not identify.

According to writer and editor John Elliott’s blog, philanthropist Kiran Nadar “is believed to have won the work for her famous New Delhi art museum known as KNMA.”

“It was highly predictable that she would be determined to obtain this important work by such a leading modern Indian artist as Husain. It is also quite likely that this was realised by her rival, who is believed to have been Shankh Mitra, CEO of Welltower, a US real estate investment trust,” Elliott said in his blog, ‘Riding the Elephant’.

KNMA did not immediately respond to queries by Mint seeking comment.

“This is a landmark moment,” said Nishad Avari, head of Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art division. “We are thrilled to set a new benchmark for Husain and the entire category. The Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art market is growing fast.”

Gram Yatra (1954) is a mural-size painting that spans almost 14 feet across 13 vignettes. Each of the vignettes offers a glimpse into rural Indian life. The overall composition is anchored by a large central image of a man and woman riding an ox-drawn cart.

Husain’s sale broke the previous record for a modern Indian oil-on-canvas painting—Amrita Sher-Gil’s The Story Teller (1937), which was sold for about $7.4 million ( ₹61.8 crore) by SaffronArt in New Delhi in September 2023. It exceeded Husain’s record of $3.1 million for Untitled (Reincarnation), set in London in 2023.

Several records

The entire auction at New York’s Rockefeller Center saw strong bidding, bringing total sales to $24.86 million, with 95% of the lots sold and prices reaching 321% above the low estimate.

The sale comes on the heels of a Sotheby’s auction three days ago where a 1973 painting by artist Jagdish Swaminathan – Homage to Solzhenitsyn (Triptych) – sold for $4.69 million. This auction, held in New York as part of the Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art vertical, sold more than three times its $1 million low estimate.

The auction also set records for several other artists, including Sayed Haider Raza (work on paper), Gulam Rasool Santosh, Sudhir Patwardhan, Jeram Patel (work on paper), Ivan Peries, Senaka Senanayake, and B. Prabha (work on paper). Strong bidding throughout the sale showed the increasing demand for South Asian art.

According to Christie’s, Husain’s painting has remained largely unseen since its acquisition by Ukrainian-born Norway-based doctor Leon Elias Volodarsky, who was in New Delhi to establish a thoracic surgery training centre for the World Health Organization.

Volodarsky bequeathed the painting to Oslo University Hospital in 1964. Proceeds from the sale will support the training of future generations of doctors at the institution.

The sale of the ‘Volodarsky Husain’ added another major milestone to the artist’s legacy.

Critic and curator Uma Nair, speaking to Mint, said the art market is thriving on buying power, and India has emerged as a key player in shaping wealth management practices. With greater financial strength, Indian collectors have propelled the ‘Progressives’—a group of modernist artists—to prominence, a rise driven by their integrity and dedication. Their friendships and mutual admiration serve as a timeless lesson in camaraderie and respect.

Founded in 1947, the Progressive Artists’ Group broke away from tradition and embraced modernist influences. Artists Husain, FN Souza, SH Raza, and Tyeb Mehta worked with bold forms and colours, and had an Indian sensibility. Though the group disbanded, their artworks still shape the global art market.

“Husain’s Gram Yatra captures the rustic rhythms of rural life, embodying earthiness and simplicity. In doing so, he echoes Leonardo da Vinci’s sentiment: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” she said. “Now, as a hospital sells this masterpiece to fund medical services for its own doctors and humanitarian work, it offers a profound message of generosity and purpose in a world shaken by conflict. While Ukraine dominates global headlines, the spotlight unexpectedly falls on an Indian icon—MF Husain.”