arrow_back Back to all stories
trending_up market calendar_today Friday, October 17, 2025

kiran nadar bought m f husain record breaking painting christies 1234757841

Kiran Nadar, a prominent Indian collector, revealed she purchased M.F. Husain's 1954 painting *Untitled (Gram Yatra)* for $13.8 million at Christie's New York, making it the most expensive work of Indian modern art ever sold at auction. The painting, estimated at $2.5–3.5 million, was originally owned by Norwegian surgeon Leon Elias Volodarsky and later donated to Oslo University Hospital, which consigned it after a 13-year deaccessioning process.

The acquisition underscores the growing global market for Indian modern art and the Nadars' continued influence as major collectors. The painting will join the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art's collection in Delhi, and its record price highlights Husain's significance as a post-independence Indian modernist. The sale also coincides with the upcoming opening of the M.F. Husain Museum in Doha, Qatar, further cementing Husain's international legacy.