Husain, who died in 2011, aged 95, was a pioneer of Indian modernism and remains a lasting inspiration for Indian artists. In 2006, he left India after death threats from Hindu hardline groups over his depictions of deities. For nearly five decades, the record-breaking painting unassumingly adorned the walls of a Norwegian hospital, overlooked and undervalued. Now, it stands as a defining work of modern South Asian art.
søndag 30. mars 2025
Indian mural that spent decades on Norwegian hospital wall sells for record $13.8m
A forgotten oil-on-canvas masterpiece by Indian painter MF Husain, rediscovered decades later, has rewritten the record books for Indian art. Husain's Untitled (Gram Yatra), a sprawling 14-foot-wide mural, sold for an unprecedented $13.8m (£10.6m) at a Christie's auction in New York last week. It shattered the previous high for Indian art of $7.4m (£5.7m), fetched by Amrita Sher-Gil's The Story Teller in 2023.
Husain, who died in 2011, aged 95, was a pioneer of Indian modernism and remains a lasting inspiration for Indian artists. In 2006, he left India after death threats from Hindu hardline groups over his depictions of deities. For nearly five decades, the record-breaking painting unassumingly adorned the walls of a Norwegian hospital, overlooked and undervalued. Now, it stands as a defining work of modern South Asian art.
Husain, who died in 2011, aged 95, was a pioneer of Indian modernism and remains a lasting inspiration for Indian artists. In 2006, he left India after death threats from Hindu hardline groups over his depictions of deities. For nearly five decades, the record-breaking painting unassumingly adorned the walls of a Norwegian hospital, overlooked and undervalued. Now, it stands as a defining work of modern South Asian art.
