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Updated March 24th, 2021 at 14:31 IST

World's biggest canvas painting 'Journey of Humanity' fetches millions at auction

1,800 square feet biggest canvas painting which comprises 70 parts was first revealed to the public in Nov. 2020 and was verified by the Guinness World Record. 

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
biggest canvas painting
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The World’s largest canvas painting titled ‘The Journey of Humanity’ has sold at an auction at Dubai for Christie's for a whopping  228 million dirham ($62 million). The sale has entitled the British artist Sasha Jafri as the world's fourth most expensive painter alive after artists Jeff Koons, David Hockney, and digital artist Beeple. His 1,800 square feet art piece which comprises nearly 70 parts was first revealed to the public in Nov. 2020 and was verified by the Guinness World Record. 

The painting, which Jafri designed at a ballroom of Dubai's Atlantis resort during the coronavirus lockdown, was purchased by a cryptocurrency French entrepreneur Andre Abdoune, chief executive of Altius Gestion International Holding, according to Emirati news outlet National. The auction was held at Atlantis, The Palm Hotel, Dubai. Jafri, who sold the painting to fund the ‘global digital equality’ cause, initially had plans of raising $30 million by dividing the painting into 60 segments and then putting them up for auction. However, in a change of plan, the painting sold in 4 auctions as one single piece. The proceeds from the sales will go to the charities like UNICEF, UNESCO, the U.A.E.’s Ministry of Education, and the Global Gift Foundation. 

Humanity Inspired 'initiative'

Jafri’s popular painting, which is about the size of at least 2 football grounds, or 17,000 sq. ft. the area is a vibrant eye-catching work of swirl of brushes, drips of vibrant shades, and a mixture of several contrasting hues that took the artist nearly 8 months to complete. While Jafri’s artwork majorly attracted cryptocurrency buyers, it has been given offers by charities belonging to US President Barack Obama, Rock legend Paul McCartney, Hollywood fame Eva Longoria among many others.

The charity funding aims to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and provide financial assistance for their education, healthcare, sanitization and to scale up digital connectivity, Dubai Cares, the government initiative website said in a press release. “The Palm and world-renowned artist Sacha Jafri launch the “Humanity Inspired” initiative, which will witness the creation of Jafri’s world-record-breaking painting to connect 1 billion people through art amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” it added. 

[Image Credit: Dubai Cares]

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Published March 24th, 2021 at 14:31 IST

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