Sacha Jafri

Sacha Jafri was born in England and is descended from the royal lineage of the Nawab of Awadh.^[3] His mother is of French descent and his father was a diplomat who served as Pakistan's ambassador to the Vatican.^[4] His grandfather Fareed S. Jafri was appointed editor of Dawn newspaper by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the 1950s, and was later appointed Pakistan's High Commissioner to Nigeria in 1968.^[5][6] Jafri attended Eton College. In 2000 he obtained his master's degree in Fine Arts from Oxford University.^[7][8]

Jafri generally works outside the art gallery system, donates many of his works and or proceeds from them to charity efforts, and numbers among his collectors Barack Obama, members of the British royal family, Sir Richard Branson, Paul McCartney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates, Madonna, David Beckham, George Clooney and Eva Longoria.^[9][10][11]

Prince Charles commissioned Jafri to do portraits of the "14 most influential living Muslims" for his Mosaic initiative. He has also been appointed a resident artist by the 21st Century leaders charity.^[12] In 2014, he created the cover art for Silver Rails, the final studio album by musician Jack Bruce.^[13]

In 2021, Jafri's Journey of Humanity painting sold at auction in Dubai for 228 million Dirham ($62 million US), the third highest auction price ever paid for a work of art by a living artist, behind Jeff Koons's Rabbit ($91.1 million US), and David Hockney's Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) ($90 million US).

The painting measures over 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m²) and incorporates the artwork of children from more than 140 nations. The artwork was purchased by French crypto businessman Andre Abdoune. Jafri donated the proceeds from the sale to children's charities.^[14][15][2]