Overview

• Clare Leighton’s 1931 portrait of Gandhi—the only oil painting he sat for—sold for £152,800 on July 15, 2025
• The final price, including Bonhams’ premium, topped its £50,000–£70,000 estimate by more than three times
• Remaining in the artist’s family collection after Leighton’s 1989 death, the canvas had never before appeared at auction
• It debuted at the Albany Galleries in London in 1931 and resurfaced publicly only in 1978, with family sources reporting a 1974 knife attack and subsequent conservation
• Bonhams’ head of sale Rhyanon Demery attributed the strong bidding to the portrait’s rarity and Gandhi’s enduring cultural impact