Homage to MF Husain via online auction

By Shriya Roy

For its upcoming online auction, auction house AstaGuru is all set to pay homage to the legacy of one of India’s most prolific figures of modern Indian art, MF Husain. The auction titled ‘Husain’, will feature a rich catalogue that encompasses the journey of the Padma Vibhushan award-winning artist.

This auction is set to feature works that span Husain’s entire career and all his beloved topics. ‘Voices’, is one such masterpiece and one of his top works which he painted in 1958. The work belongs to an extremely important phase in Husain’s career when he started receiving a lot of recognition for his work and built up a reputation both in India and internationally. It was also part of the 2005 retrospective at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai and will be offered for the first time ever at an auction.

Rakshanda Husain, specialist at AstaGuru, says, “MF Husain played a crucial role in introducing Indian art to a wider audience both within India and internationally by being at the forefront of the modernism movement. He developed a style which is instantaneously recognisable, and one which not only combined his influences of European art movements such as cubism and expressionism, but also favoured his unrelenting quest to pay homage to his Indian roots.”

The auction which will be conducted on August 29 – 30 and will also feature other significant works like ‘Karbala’ by Husain. MF Husain’s body of work has become one of the most important chapters in the history of modern Indian art. Husain worked extensively throughout his life and developed various series of works including topics as diverse as Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the British Raj and motifs of Indian urban and rural life.