M. F. Husain
Born 17 September 1915 · Maharashtra
Died 9 June 2011
Co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group that shaped Indian modern art post-1947.
🔔 Add birthday reminderMaqbool Fida Husain was an Indian painter and film director who painted narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style. One of the founding members of Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, Husain is associated with Indian modernism in the 1940s. His early association with the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group used modern technique, and was inspired by the "new" India after the partition of 1947. His narrative paintings, executed in a modified Cubist style, can be caustic and funny as well as serious and sombre.
✨ A detail that surprised us
M.F. Husain once designed and built toys to supplement his income while painting Bollywood cinema posters in the 1930s.
1. 🎨 In 1934, on a roadside in Mumbai, a young M.F. Husain sold his first painting for just 10 rupees, marking the start of a career that would span over 10,000 works.
2. 🖼️ In December 1947, Husain co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group, a collective born from the trauma of Partition, determined to redefine Indian art with modernist techniques.
3. 🌍 Husain's first solo exhibition took place in 1952 in Zürich, Switzerland, introducing his modified Cubist style to a European audience and beginning his international recognition.
4. In 1967, Husain won the National Film Award for Best Experimental Film for "Through the Eyes of a Painter," showcasing his versatility beyond canvas into filmmaking.
5. His paintings often stirred controversy, especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when nude depictions of Hindu goddesses and Bharat Mata led to multiple lawsuits and death threats, forcing Husain into self-imposed exile from India in 2006.
6. 🏆 Despite exile, Husain continued his artistic journey, receiving Qatari citizenship in 2010 and working on major art projects in the Gulf, while expressing an undiminished love for India.
7. In September 2020, his painting "Voices" sold at auction for a record $2.5 million, decades after its creation, cementing his lasting market value.
8. ❓ What motivated M.F. Husain to persist in portraying contentious themes despite legal battles and exile, and how did this shape modern Indian art's boundaries?
Awards & Honours
- 🏅Padma Bhushan
- 🏅Padma Vibhushan
🔍 One thing most people don't know
In 1934, Husain sold his first painting for only 10 rupees on a Mumbai roadside, a humble beginning before rising to global fame.
🖼️ Through the Years
📅 The Journey
🗝️ Discoveries
"I never wanted to be clever, esoteric, abstract. I wanted to make simple statements. I wanted my canvases to have a story. I wanted my art to talk to people."
— M. F. Husain
🎥 Speeches & Recordings
M. F. Husain talks about his audio book 'Suno Suno M. F. Husain Ki Kahani'
YouTube📖 Curated Sources
🌱 What changed because of them
M.F. Husain's founding of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group catalyzed a break from nationalist art styles, pushing Indian modernism onto the global stage through exhibitions in Europe and beyond. His controversial subjects sparked national debates on secularism, artistic freedom, and cultural representation, influencing legal discourse on freedom of expression in India. His exile underscored tensions between art and politics, while his international recognition helped establish Indian art as a significant player in the global modern art movement.
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