MF Husain’s painting that spent nearly fifty years in Norway’s hospital sells for $13.8m

An old and forgotten oil-on-canvas masterpiece of Indian painter MF Husain rediscovered decades later has rewritten the record books for Indian art. 

Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra), a large 14-foot-wide mural, was sold for $13.8m (£10.6m) at a Christie’s auction in New York last week. The majestic painting shattered the previous record set by Amrita Sher-Gil’s The Story Teller in 2023 after it was sold for $7.4m (£5.7m), according to BBC. 

At the age of 95, Hussain passed away in 2011 and was a pioneer of Indian modernism through art. He continues to be a lasting inspiration for his country’s artists. 

The painter had left India in 2006 after receiving death threats from Hindu groups over his depictions of deities. 

The painting decorated the walls of a Norwegian hospital for nearly five decades, sitting there overlooked and undervalued, but now the mural has found its worth as a defining work of modern South Asian art. 

Husain had painted the Gram Yatra in 1954, long before the artist became an icon. The painting’s name means “village journey”, a name it was given later on. 

The mural consists of 13 vignettes, vivid snapshots of Indian village life, reflecting Husain’s distinctive blend of country’s folk traditions and modernist influences. 

Gram Yatra is painted from vibrant, earthy tones to bring the frames to life as it depicts women cooking, caring for children and riding a cart. 

“If you’re looking for a single artwork that defines modern South Asian art, this is it,” said Nishad Avari, head of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art at Christie’s.

The painting also showed how Husain was influenced by his foreign travels, notably his 1952 trip to China, during which he was introduced to the calligraphic brushworks of artists like Xu Beihong. 

The painting was first purchased in 1954 for just $295 by Ukrainian doctor Leon Elias Volodarsky, who was in India on a World Health Organisation (WHO) mission. 

The doctor took it to Norway, the piece was put on the walls of Oslo University Hospital for nearly fifty years.