India, June 5 -- In July, an oil painting of Mahatma Gandhi made by Clare Leighton, an artist renowned for her wood engravings, will be auctioned for the first time - believed to be the only oil portrait of the Mahatma. Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi will form part of Bonhams' Travel and Exploration Sale to be held online between July 7 and 15. The 30 1/8 x 25" canvas is priced between GBP 50,000 and 70,000 ( Rs. 58 lakh and Rs.81 lakh).

Leighton, who met Gandhi in London in 1931, even made a drawing of him while he was asleep. How did this painting come to be? And what did Gandhi think of it? Let's find out.

Towards the end of August 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and a group of hopeful men and women seeking independence for India, buoyed by the suc...