Sacha Jafri

Sacha Jafri (born 3 January 1977 in United Kingdom) is a British artist known for creating the world's largest art canvas, Journey of Humanity, over seven months in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Dubai. This record was surpassed by the 14-year-old Nigerian artist Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke in 2025 .

In 2021, Journey of Humanity reportedly sold for US$62 million, which would make it the third highest price ever paid for a work of art by a living artist. However, a 2026 article published in The Fence magazine claims that the painting remains unpaid, and its current location remains unknown .

Early life Sacha Jafri was born in England and is descended from the lineage of the Nawab of Awadh. His mother is of French descent and his father was a diplomat who served as Pakistan's ambassador to the Vatican. 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.

He was raised in Virginia Water, near Windsor Great Park. He enrolled at Oxford University's Ruskin School of Art in 1996. In 2000, he obtained his master's degree in Fine Arts from Oxford University. Some sources claim that Jafri earned a first class honours Master of Arts , but two contemporaries say he received a third class degree However, there is no evidence that Jafri's paintings have been purchased by Gates, DiCaprio, or Obama In 2014, he created the cover art for Silver Rails, the final studio album by musician Jack Bruce.

Journey of Humanity In 2021, Jafri's Journey of Humanity canvas reportedly 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 and incorporates the artwork of children from more than 140 nations. The artwork's reported purchaser was French crypto businessman, André Abdoune.

A 2026 article in the British magazine The Fence claims that the $62 million, agreed to be paid by Abdoune in four instalments over a four month period, was not paid (as of March 2026). Jafri has not publicly confirmed that the painting remains unpaid .