Indian Painting Sells for Record 17.9 Million Dollars at Auction
Last update: April 2, 2026
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Yashoda and Krishna smashes estimates to become most expensive Indian artwork ever sold at auction.
An Indian oil painting by celebrated 19th century artist Raja Ravi Varma has sold for a record 17.9 million dollars at auction in Mumbai, setting a new benchmark for modern Indian art.
The Mumbai based auction house Saffronart said the painting, Yashoda and Krishna, depicts the Hindu god Krishna with his mother as she milks a cow, and is now the highest priced Varma work ever sold globally.
The oil on canvas piece went under the hammer on Wednesday, far exceeding its estimated value of 8.6 million to 12.9 million dollars.
Saffronart described it as the highest value work by an Indian artist ever sold at auction worldwide.
According to The Times of India, the painting was acquired by industrialist and vaccine tycoon Cyrus Poonawala.
Poonawala said the artwork is a national treasure and should be made available for public viewing periodically, adding that he would work toward facilitating that access.
Born in 1848, Varma is renowned for blending European artistic techniques with Indian themes and narratives.
Saffronart noted that the painting, created in the 1890s at the peak of the artist’s career, is among his most accomplished works and had previously been held in a private collection.
The piece is widely regarded as a defining example of Varma’s mastery of oil painting and his pioneering naturalistic portrayal of Indian deities, which helped shape modern visual interpretations of sacred narratives in India.
