Maqbool Husain Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Husain's current auction record is also the most recent sale on this list. It was set when Untitled (Gram Yatra) (1954) sold at Christie's New York in March 2025, achieving four times its high estimate, after remaining largely unseen for 70 years. This vast oil painting represents one of the artist's most ambitious early works, created during a pivotal period shortly after India's independence. The expansive canvas features 13 interconnected vignettes celebrating rural Indian life, with scenes depicting agricultural activities, ox-drawn carts, and festivities that formed the backbone of Indian cultural identity during this transformative period. The painting's subtitle translates to "Village Pilgrimage," reflecting Husain's deep engagement with India's rural heritage as the nation forged its post-colonial identity. Its panoramic composition demonstrates his sophisticated fusion of East Asian artistic influences, Western abstractionist principles, and traditional Indian miniature painting techniques. The work's exceptional result reflects growing recognition of Husain's significance in global Modernism, particularly works that document India's cultural transformation in the mid-20th century.

This significant 1957 painting achieved its impressive result at Sotheby's London in September 2024, again quadrupling its high estimate. The work explores the Hindu philosophical concept of reincarnation through dynamic composition and vibrant colour. The figure in orange, balanced against an earthy background, represents spiritual transition and the cyclical nature of existence central to Indian metaphysical thought. The late 1950s marked a period when Husain was refining his signature style after gaining international recognition at the São Paulo Biennial. The painting's exceptional provenance, having been in a distinguished private collection for five decades before its 2024 appearance at auction, contributed significantly to its strong performance.

Bulls (1961) sold at Sotheby's New York in March 2023, doubling its high estimate. This painting exemplifies Husain's exploration of bulls as symbols of strength, virility, and agrarian life - cornerstones of traditional Indian culture. The earthy tones and angular forms demonstrate his sophisticated adaptation of Cubist influences while maintaining distinctly Indian subject matter.

Bulls figure prominently throughout Husain's oeuvre, reflecting both their cultural significance in Indian rural society and their spiritual associations in Hindu mythology. This particular work, with its raw expressionistic energy and powerful composition, came from a period when Husain was receiving increasing international recognition, including exhibitions in Zurich, Prague, and Tokyo. Its successful sale out of the collection of Harry N. Abrams to a prominent collector from East Asia demonstrates the growing global appreciation for Husain's work.

Voices (1958) achieved its notable result at Asta Guru, Mumbai, in August 2020. Another of Husain’s panoramic paintings, this piece speaks to a key moment of transformation in India’s history. The abstracted figures and fragmented imagery, displayed across an unusually elongated format, embody the collective experiences of a newly independent nation finding its voice. The work's title reflects Husain's interest in capturing the multitude of perspectives emerging in post-independence India - a theme that would preoccupy him throughout his career. The 1950s were a creatively significant decade for Husain, beyond their political implications, when his style evolved into what we recognise today.

Battle Of Ganga And Jamuna: Mahabharata 12 (1972) achieved its result at Saffronart, Mumbai, in March 2020. This large canvas, measuring almost 3 metres in width, was created for the 11th São Paulo Biennial and draws inspiration from the epic Mahabharata, depicting the cosmic battle between good and evil personified by India's sacred rivers, Ganga and Jamuna.

The composition's division into four distinct colour planes reflects traditional Rajasthani miniature painting techniques, while the dynamic figures evoke Indian temple sculptures. The anti-war sentiment resonates with Picasso's Guernica (1937), demonstrating Husain's engagement with both Indian artistic heritage and global Modernist concerns. Created during a period of regional conflict, including the Bangladesh Liberation War, the painting's exploration of moral dilemmas and consequences of combat adds historical depth to its aesthetic achievement.

This vibrant oil on board painting from 1966 sold at Pundole's, Mumbai, in December 2017, doubling its estimate. The substantial work exemplifies Husain's signature Cubist-inspired style with bold colours and fragmented forms that demonstrate his confident artistic vision during this productive decade. The vibrant palette and rhythmic composition reflect both his early training as a billboard painter and his sophisticated understanding of modern art movements. The more intricate, detailed shapes of bright colour ensure this work stands out in Husain’s oeuvre, creating a greater sense of opulence and movement, as well as adding narrative clues - including a mudras hand gesture, a chakra (wheel), and calligraphic Devanagari letters.

This 1956 oil on canvas achieved its result at Christie's London in June 2015, reaching the top of its estimate. It was originally painted for the Venice Biennale in 1956, and remained in a prominent Italian collection until 2011. It has not, therefore, been available for public view - increasing the interest for collectors in 2015. Like many works from this time, it depicts icons of Indian culture, including scenes from the countryside such as women working in the villages. For Husain, these women and their patriarchal figures were symbols of hope and optimism, while the featured tigers represented unity and strength. The tall, imposing male figure is often used by Husain to represent the evils of man after India’s Partition. Two panels are notably left blank; many believe these represent an open, hopeful, and unwritten future.

The Last Supper (2005) sold in an online Artiana, UAE, auction in October 2017. This late-career work demonstrates Husain's enduring interest in cross-cultural religious narratives. The painting reinterprets the well-known Christian scene, altering the symbolism, colours, and composition to reflect Indian culture, but also Husain’s own library of recurring motifs. Husain was in his 90s when the work was created, and living in self-imposed exile; as such, this work is a rare insight into Husain’s mind at the time. His depiction of religious subjects had previously sparked protests in India, leading to his relocation abroad in 2006 and eventual acceptance of Qatari citizenship in 2010. This painting's successful sale demonstrates that despite controversies, Husain's works maintain strong market appeal for their technical excellence and conceptual depth.

Untitled (Naga) (c.1971) achieved its result at Christie's New York in September 2023. Another vast oil painting, this work features five female figures and a serpent (naga), a powerful symbol in Hindu and Buddhist traditions representing fertility, protection, and cosmic energy. Created for an exhibition at Asia House Gallery in New York, this work commemorates Husain's participation in the São Paulo Biennial alongside Picasso. The fluid, spectral figures exemplify his characteristic blend of traditional and modern elements, while the serpent motif connects to deeper spiritual currents in Indian visual culture. The work's impressive provenance, having been acquired directly from the artist by Harry N. Abrams in 1972, contributed to its strong performance at auction.

Rounding off this list is British Raj Procession (1999), which sold in an online Asta Guru auction in December 2018. The only acrylic painting on this list, and arguably the most vibrant in colour, this piece belongs to Husain's unfinished British Raj Series, which critically examines colonial power dynamics during British rule in India. The composition juxtaposes towering British officials - eachr representing a different element of society - with subjugated Indian subjects, employing visual hierarchy to comment on historical oppression. The work was originally gifted by Husain to the family of the Late Shri Bholanath Khanha and remained in their care until its sale in 2018.