Maqbool Fida Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra) has set a new record for modern Indian art, selling for $13.75 million (approximately Rs. 118 crores) at Christie’s in New York. The sale doubled the previous category record of $7.4 million set by Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘The Story Teller’ in 2023, and far exceeded Mr. Husain’s prior personal best of $3.1 million. The buyer remains unnamed.
Nishad Avari, Head of Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, said, “We are thrilled to have been a part of setting a new benchmark value for the work of Maqbool Fida Husain and the entire category. This is a landmark moment and continues the extraordinary upward trajectory of the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art market.”
Measuring nearly 14 feet, the 1954 painting features 13 vignettes that explore India’s cultural heritage and transition into modernity. Mr. Husain, known for blending Indian themes with international influences, drew inspiration from European modernists and East Asian artists.
In 1952, he visited China and was influenced by artists Xu Beihong and Qi Baishi, whose expressive brushwork is reflected in the composition of Gram Yatra. The following year, he traveled to Europe, where he encountered the works of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee and Amadeo Modigliani. These influences are evident in elements of Cubism and stylized forms within the painting.
Despite these global influences, Mr. Husain remained deeply connected to Indian traditions, drawing from miniature painting techniques and emphasizing themes of rural life, mythology, and national identity in post-independence India.
“If you’re looking for a single artwork that defines modern South Asian art, this is it,” says Mr. Avari. “The painting grapples with what it means to be both South Asian and a modern artist.”
Women play a central role in the painting’s vignettes, engaged in tasks such as milking cows, milling grain, and caring for children, symbols of fertility, renewal, and the foundation of Indian society. One of the standout figures in the work is a standing farmer. Mr. Avari notes, “The farmer is the core element of Indian society, and here he is shown holding up the land, physically and metaphorically…By choosing to highlight the farmer, the artist is forcing his viewers to focus on the foundational importance of rural India in the wake of the new nation, even as the country underwent urbanization.”
The work had remained out of public view for decades after it was acquired by Ukraine-born Norway-based Dr. Leon Elias Volodarsky, who was in Delhi for a World Health Organization project. Dr. Volodarsky later donated it to Oslo University Hospital.
Christie’s first learned of the painting more than a decade ago when photographs surfaced from Oslo University Hospital. “Our jaws dropped, we knew we had to see it in person,” Mr. Avari remembers.
Before the auction, Gram Yatra was displayed in Delhi for the first time in over 70 years, allowing the public a rare look at the masterpiece. “Every time you look at this painting, you find a new story or meaning in one of the vignettes,” Mr. Avari says reverently.
Proceeds from the sale of the artwork will support medical training at Oslo University Hospital.
