REMEMBER I NG THE LEGEND - Maqbool Fida Husain (19152011) “No work stains a man who is pure, who is in harmony, who is master of his life, whosesoul is one with the soul of all”~Bhagavad Gita
Renowned Indian artist, MF Husain, passed away at the age of 95 in London on June 9, 2011 following a heart attack. One ofthe most influential Indian artists of the 20th century, Husain has left behind a deep void in the artistic community that cannot easily be filled. Husain helped popularize Indian Art both within the country and abroad. He captivated art lovers with his deep appreciation of the human condition and his bold and imaginative strokes. His iconic status in the artistic world stemmed from his understanding of various subjects, ranging from social issues to religion and cinema. It’s not an exaggeration to say that he was a cultural ambassador for India who represented Indian art across the globe. Turning Point Although MF Husain dominated the Indian art fraternity for nearly seventy years, his began his career in a small way - as a painter painting cinema hoardings. One of the many poignant moments in Husain’s life came in the 1940s during a game held in the ‘Cricket Club of India’ (Mumbai). He wanted to watch the game but was denied entry because the grounds were reserved for the British. Husain reportedly watched the game from a hole in a side gate. He was shaken by the treatment and the incident inspired him to paint aggressively in order to express his anger and dissatisfaction with the evils of society. Husain’s Journey Born to a Sulaimani Bohra family from Pandhapur in Maharashtra, Husain spent much of his childhood and youth in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. As a child, he spent much of his time drawing, leading his father to believe that he may become have a future as a cutter in a tailor’s shop. A gold medal at an art show, however, persuaded the father to enrol his 17-year-old son in evening classesat a local art school. Five years later, after his family's economic circumstances forced him to forego his seat at the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai, Husain returned to the city, where he found cheap lodgings and started painting cinema hoardings. Following his father’s death, he had to give up a hard-won place in Art College and take to billboard painting to keep the family fire burning. He then found a full-time job with a furniture maker but started painting indefatigably in his free time. An award in an exhibition in 1947 brought him some notice. Later that year, he became one of the Copalart.com Page1
founder - members of the Progressive Artists Group, largely an initiative of two other giants of contemporary Indian Art - Francis Newton Souza and Syed Haider Raza – of which only MF Husain chose to remain at home. His Work Husain's approach in painting was completely different from the dominant Bengal school of art, but it established a place for Indian Art on the international scene. The painting 'Battle of Ganga and Yamuna: Mahabharata 12' created a record in 2008, when it was sold for USD 1,000,000 at an auction. An Untitled oil work of 1955 fetched USD1,072,920 at Sotheby’s in 2010, and the controversial Sita-Hanuman sold for USD849,395at Christie’s in 2008. Accolades Husain travelled extensively throughout India between 1948 and 1955, absorbing influences from the ancient and medieval art he saw. He was already famous by 1955, the year he won first prize at the National Exhibition of Art in New Delhi and honoured as a Padmashree. In 1973, he was made a Padma Bhushan, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986 and in 1989 was honoured as a Padma Vibhushan. MF Husain’s paintings proved that Indian Art could command the same prestige and value as that of his Western contemporaries. The man, who painted film hoardings for a living early on in life, was described by none other than Forbes magazine as the "Pablo Picassoof India". Intimidation of the Artist However, his nude paintings of Hindu Goddesses caused uproar in India. Although the works were created some four decades ago, a raft of criminal complaints was filed against him in the mid-1990sfor promoting enmity between different groups. In defence of his Hindu goddesspaintings, Husain said: “I have painted in the idiom of modern art, the contemporary way…that's very difficult to understand. Where there is a figure of a woman I paint, it is nude but that figure is not realistic. The nudity is a metaphor for purity and strength” No other painter has contributed more to making modern Indian art known within the country or all over the world. His works are invariably a part of international auctions and it is estimated that one of every five modern paintings by Indian artists sold by the world's two leading auction houses is by Husain. India will not have another Husain but his artistic legacy lives on as does his enduring message for future generations to learn and lead in their areas of passion. Copalart.com Page2