M.F. HUSAIN
(1915 - 2011)

Maqbool Fida Husain was one of India’s most prominent Modern artists. 

Self-taught, he began as a billboard painter in Mumbai and transitioned to a Fine Artist in the 1940s. Often dubbed the "Picasso of India," Husain drew inspiration from Amrita Sher-Gil and George Keyt. His art seamlessly blended Western Modernism and Cubism with traditional Indian themes, encompassing both secular and religious subjects. His themes—usually treated in series—included topics as diverse as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the British raj, and motifs of Indian urban and rural life.

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Husnain was awarded such national honours as the Padma Bhushan (1973) and the Padma Vibhushan (1991) and also received recognition as a printmaker, photographer, and filmmaker for his short subject "Through the Eyes of a Painter" that won a Golden Bear in 1967 at the Berlin International Film Festival.