A rare oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi, believed to be the only one he ever sat for, has been sold for Rs 1.63 crore (approximately £1,52,800 or $204,648) at a Bonhams auction in London…more than double its expected price range.

Created in 1931 by British artist Clare Leighton, the portrait was painted during Gandhi’s visit to London for the Second Round Table Conference, which focused on India’s constitutional future under British colonial rule.

Bonhams had initially valued the portrait between Rs 53 lakh and Rs 74 lakh (or between £50,000 and £70,000).

The artwork emerged as the top lot in the auction house’s travel and exploration sale.

“Thought to be the only oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi, which he sat for, this was a very special work,” said Rhyanon Demery, Bonhams’ head of sale. “It is no wonder that this work sparked such interest across the globe.”

The sitting

Leighton, a prominent wood engraver, was among the few artists ever permitted to paint Gandhi from life.

According to Bonhams, she gained access through her then-partner, Henry Noel Brailsford, a left-wing journalist and outspoken supporter of Indian independence.

She spent several mornings observing Gandhi at his London residence, sketching him in his familiar, informal posture, seated cross-legged, draped in a shawl.

Exhibited in London

The finished portrait was exhibited in November 1931 at Albany Galleries in London.

Gandhi did not attend the opening, but the show was visited by Members of Parliament, foreign dignitaries, and members of the Indian delegation, including Sarojini Naidu and Sir Purshotamdas Thakurdas.

Among the visitors was writer Winifred Holtby, who recorded her impression of the painting: “The little man squats bare-headed, in his blanket, one finger raised… his lips parted for a word that is almost a smile. That is very much as I saw him when he came as a guest to a big luncheon in Westminster.”

After the exhibition, Gandhi’s secretary Mahadev Desai sent a letter to Leighton, writing: “It was such a pleasure to have had you here for many mornings doing Mr Gandhi’s portrait… many of my friends who saw it in the Albany Gallery said it was a good likeness.”

Years in obscurity

Following the exhibition, the painting remained in Leighton’s possession until her death in the United States in 1989. It was then passed down through her family.

In 1974, while on public display, the portrait was attacked with a knife. It was later restored by the Lyman Allyn Museum Conservation Laboratory.

After that, it was not shown publicly until 1978, when it featured in a Boston Public Library exhibition on Leighton’s work.

Bonhams has not disclosed the identity of the buyer or whether the painting will be displayed publicly in the future.