
Rare Gandhi portrait smashes estimate to sell for nearly RM869,000
A rare painting of Mahatma Gandhi, believed to be the only oil portrait that the Indian independence leader ever sat for, has sold at auction in Britain for £152,800 (approximately RM869,000).
The 1931 painting by British-American artist Clare Leighton fetched more than twice the estimated price when the auction closed on Tuesday in London, Bonhams auction house has revealed.
"Thought to be the only oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi which he sat for, this was a very special work, which had never before been offered at auction," said Rhyanon Demery, Bonhams' head of sale.
She added the painting "was a testament to Gandhi's power to connect with people far and wide, and presented a lasting document of an important moment in history".
Gandhi, one of the most influential figures in India's history, led a non-violent movement against British rule and inspired similar resistance campaigns across the world.
He is the subject of tens of thousands of artworks, books and films.
The portrait was created in London - at a crucial time for India's independence struggle - and remained in Leighton's collection until her death in 1989.
It was then passed down through her family, according to Bonhams.
No details were provided about the buyer. - AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
Hong Kong LGBTQ event cancelled after venue denial without explanation
HONG KONG: One of Hong Kong's largest LGBTQ events, Pink Dot Hong Kong, has been cancelled after organisers were denied a venue 'without explanation'. The annual celebration, held since 2014, was scheduled for October 12 but could not proceed after West Kowloon Cultural District refused to rent the space. Organisers said they had engaged the venue early this year but were later informed that the booking could not proceed. 'We were notified by West Kowloon that the venue could not be rented to us, without any explanation provided,' they stated. Unable to secure an alternative location in time, the event was called off. The West Kowloon Cultural District, managed by a government-appointed statutory body, told AFP it reviews applications 'in accordance with established procedures' but declined to comment on specific cases. The cancellation comes as Hong Kong's legislature debates a bill to grant limited rights to same-sex couples registered abroad. The proposed law, mandated by the top court to be finalised by late October, covers medical and after-death arrangements. Lawmakers will review the bill after their September recess. – AFP

The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Britain's Catherine picks fairy costume, Beatrix Potter for museum exhibit
Catherine's mini display will be available for viewing at the V&A East Storehouse in London until early 2026. Photo: Reuters A watercolour by beloved children's author Beatrix Potter and a fairy costume for a 1960 ballet are among the objects chosen by Britain's Princess Catherine for a display at an innovative British museum. Catherine, the Princess of Wales also known as Kate, chose costumes, paintings and furniture from the V&A's large collection for her "mini display". The princess's Makers and Creators display follows her visit to the museum's storehouse and new "on-demand" visitor attraction last month. In a message from Kate, she wrote: "Objects can tell a story. A collection of objects can create a narrative, both about our past and as inspiration for the future." "Individual, unique objects can come together to create a collective whole that helps us to explore our social and cultural experiences and the role we play in the wider tapestry of life." Her selection of objects includes a blue-and-white Qing dynasty porcelain vase made between 1662 and 1722, a costume for the Fairy of the Woodland Glade by the designer Oliver Messel for the Royal Ballet's 1960 production of The Sleeping Beauty a nd a watercolour painting of a forest glade by Potter. Other items highlight a handmade quilt from Wales dating from 1830 to 1840 and a 15th century earthenware tile from the southern country of Somerset. The mini display celebrates past creators and shows "how historic objects can influence fashion, design, film, art, and creativity today," said the V&A. It also mirrors Kate's love of nature, and interest in nurturing educational development in young children. Visitors will be able to examine the objects up close by using the free Order an Object service. Members of the public can select items on the museum's online catalogue and book an appointment to spend time with the objects with the help of a museum staff member. One fifth of the museum's total collection is available to be viewed and enjoyed in the four-storey building on the former site of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Catherine's display will be available for viewing at the V&A East Storehouse until early 2026. - AFP


New Straits Times
13 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Vatican embraces social media 'digital missionaries'
SISTER Albertine, a youthful French Catholic nun, stood outside the Vatican, phone in hand, ready to shoot more videos for her hundreds of thousands of followers online. The 29-year-old nun, whose secular name is Albertine Debacker, is one of hundreds of Catholic influencers in Rome for a Vatican-organised social media summit this week. The Vatican calls them "digital missionaries" and – in an unprecedented move for the centuries-old institution – Pope Leo XIV led a mass dedicated to them at St Peter's Basilica, calling on them to create content for those who "need to know the Lord." Long wary of social media, the Catholic Church now sees it as a vital tool to spread the faith amid dwindling church attendance. For Sister Albertine, this is the ideal "missionary terrain." Inside the Baroque basilica, she was one of a swarm of religious influencers who surrounded the new pope, live streaming the meeting on their smartphones within one of Christianity's most sacred spots. She said it was highly symbolic that the Vatican organised the event bringing together its Instagramming-disciples. "It tells us: 'it's important, go for it, we're with you and we'll search together how we can take this new evangelisation forward," she told AFP. The influencer summit was held as part of the Vatican's "Jubilee of Youth", as young believers flooded Rome this week. Sister Albertine has 320,000 followers on Instagram and some of her TikTok videos get more than a million views. She shares a mix of prayers with episodes from daily religious life, often from French abbeys. "You feel alone and I suggest that we can pray together," she said in one video, crossing herself. But, as religious content spreads online in the social media and AI era, one of the reasons behind the Vatican's summit was for it to express its position on the trend. "You are not only influencers, you are missionaries," influential Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle – one of the few Vatican officials active on social media - told those attending mass. The "great influencer is God", he added. But Tagle also warned that "Jesus is not a voice generated by a digital programme." Pope Leo called on his online followers to strike a balance at a time when society is "hyperconnected" and "bombarded with images, sometimes false or distorted." "It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter between hearts," said the American pope, 69. It is this balance that has been hard to strike, with some Catholic clerics themselves embracing a social media presence. Father Giuseppe Fusari does not look like a regular priest: wearing tight shirts exposing his arm tattoos. To his 63,000 followers on Instagram, he mixes content about Italian church architecture and preaching. Fusari told AFP there is no reason Catholic clerics should not embrace the world of online videos. "Everyone uses social media, so it's important that we're there too," said Fusari, who came to Rome for the influencer event from the northern city of Brescia. Fusari said his goal was to reach as many people as possible online, sharing the "word of God" with them. This also takes the form of sharing videos of his chihuahua eating spaghetti. But priests and nuns are not the only ones trying to attract people to the Church online, with regular believers spreading the faith too. Francesca Parisi, a 31-year-old Italian teacher, joined the Catholic Church later in life. She now has some 20,000 followers on TikTok, where she tries to make the Catholic faith look trendy. Her target audience? People who have "drifted away" from the church. It's possible, she said, to lure them back through their smartphones. "If God did it with me, rest assured, he can also do it with you."