Overview

• Clare Leighton painted the work during Gandhi’s 1931 visit to London for the Second Round Table Conference, making it the only known oil portrait he posed for.
• The painting remained in Leighton’s personal collection until her death in 1989 and has never before appeared on the market.
• Visible repairs applied by the Lyman Allyn Museum Conservation Laboratory in 1974 followed an alleged, undocumented knife attack during a public exhibition.
• A letter from Gandhi’s secretary Mahadev Desai expressing appreciation for Leighton’s sittings remains attached to the portrait’s backing board.
• Bonhams head of sale Rhyanon Demery says no comparable likeness exists and anticipates the lot will fetch between £50,000 and £70,000 this July.