Indian mural that spent decades on Norwegian hospital wall sells for record $13.8m

The 14-foot-wide mural by MF Husain sold for an unprecedented $13.8m (£10.6m) in New York last week.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcastsRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewslettersIndian mural that spent decades on Norwegian hospital wall sells for record $13.8m17 hours agoShareSaveJanhavee MooleBBC Marathi, MumbaiShareSaveChristie’sMF Husain's Untitled (Gram Yatra) sold for an unprecedented $13.8m (£10.6m) at a Christie's auction in New York last weekA 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 painted Gram Yatra - meaning "village journey", a name it was given later on - in 1954, long before he became an icon.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvedl95l79o

---