MF Husain’s Record Shattering Painting: The Full Story & Who Bought It?

Renowned painter MF Husain set a world auction record when his painting Untitled (Gram Yatra) was sold for an astounding USD 13.8 million (₹119 crore) during the South Asian Modern + Contemporary Indian Art Sale in New York on March 20. The painting, which had been virtually unseen in Norway for decades, was sold through Christie’s.

In a post on X, Christie’s, the auction house that sold the painting, stated, “This is the highest price ever achieved for any modern Indian work of art in the world.”

The previous record for a modern Indian work was $7.4 million (₹61.8 crore), set by Amrita Sher-Gil’s The Story Teller (1937), which sold in September 2023 in Mumbai.

Nearly 14 feet long, the 1954 painting consists of 13 separate vignettes depicting village life in India.

Nishad Avari, the New York-based head of Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art department, told ARTNews that, prior to the sale, his department hoped Untitled (Gram Yatra) would shift Husain’s market, which had lagged behind those of FN Souza and Raza, two other members of the Progressive Artists’ Group.

Avari elaborated on the painting’s significance: “It comprises 13 separate vignettes of village life in India, which is particularly important because this was created five years after Indian independence. Husain and his colleagues were attempting to figure out what it meant to be a modern Indian artist at the time.”

“In Untitled (Gram Yatra), Husain emphasizes the centrality of village and rural life in India as the foundation for a new nation. One of the 13 vignettes portrays a standing farmer—the only male figure in the piece. This is a self-portrait of sorts, and the only image that crosses into another vignette of a landscape with fields. It’s literally a portrait of a farmer as both a sustainer and protector of the land,” Avari said, as quoted by ARTNews.

Further explaining the painting’s history, Avari revealed that the original owner, Leon Elias Volodarsky, a Norwegian general surgeon and private art collector, acquired Untitled (Gram Yatra) in New Delhi in 1954, while heading a World Health Organization team stationed there to establish a thoracic surgery training centre. Volodarsky’s estate donated the painting to Oslo University Hospital in 1964.

“We’re getting on a plane,” was how Avari’s team responded to a call from the hospital about Untitled (Gram Yatra).

For seven decades, the painting was unavailable for public viewing. “It was in a private neuroscience corridor,” Avari told ARTNews.

Describing the 13-year process to bring the painting to the auction block on March 19, Avari said they had to seek necessary permissions from the Oslo University Hospital’s board once the institution was ready to sell.

“What’s really, really gratifying is that the proceeds are going to be used to set up a training center for doctors in Dr. Volodarsky’s name,” Avari added.

Confirming that Kiran Nadar bought the painting, Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises, wrote on X, “Indian modern art gets its due! M.F. Husain’s Gram Yatra (1954) breaks the ₹100 crore barrier, selling for $13.8M to Kiran Nadar. Once gifted to Oslo University Hospital by Dr. Volodarsky, its proceeds will now support a noble cause in creating a medical training center.”

Kiran Nadar is the trustee of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) and the wife of HCL founder Shiv Nadar.

#WorldAuctionRecord M.F. Husain's 'Untitled (Gram Yatra)' has shattered the previous artist record achieving US$13,750,000 during South Asian Modern + Contemporary Indian Art Sale in New York. This is the highest price realised for any modern Indian work of art in the world. pic.twitter.com/fGmgexiTU7

— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 19, 2025

Indian modern art gets its due! M F Hussain’s Gram Yatra (1954) breaks the ₹100cr barrier, selling for $13.8M to Kiran Nadar. Once gifted to Oslo University Hospital by Dr. Volodarsky, its proceeds will now support a noble cause for creating a medical training centre. pic.twitter.com/Om3sZ064uW

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) March 20, 2025