Important Notice

"I’m merely trying to collate my experience of 60 years through the paintings. Through men, women, plants and birds...I’m not narrating any story...I’m not concerned with certain types here; instead I’m aspiring to convey my vision to speak." - M F HUSAIN

M F Husain considered the human figure to be essential in his depictions of the diverse realities of India. “How can I go abstract when there are 600 million people around me in... "I’m merely trying to collate my experience of 60 years through the paintings. Through men, women, plants and birds...I’m not narrating any story...I’m not concerned with certain types here; instead I’m aspiring to convey my vision to speak." - M F HUSAIN

M F Husain considered the human figure to be essential in his depictions of the diverse realities of India. “How can I go abstract when there are 600 million people around me in India? It is impossible for me to ignore the multitudes around me. How can I do that as an artist?” (Artist quoted in Yashodhara Dalmia, “The Rise of Modern Art and the Progressives,” The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for A New India, New York: Asia Society, 2019) The human figure accordingly became “the vehicle for his exploration of the nature and drama of reality.” (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur, Husain, New York: Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1972, p. 36)

The female figure, in particular, would become a central and recurrent motif in Husain’s art. “The central concern of Husain’s art, and its dominant motif, is woman... In Husain’s work, woman has the gift of eagerness... like those in ancient Jain miniature paintings, and an inward attentiveness, as if she were listening to the life coursing within her.” (Bartholomew and Kapur, p. 46)

He would often portray women steadily engaged in daily activities, such as the two figures seen in the present lot. “It is a point worth noting that Husain’s women, far from arousing passion, are ascetic... It is almost as if he strips the sculptures of all exterior embellishments to arrive at their basic sense of movement. Husain’s women are always enshrouded in an invisible veil, the simplicity of their form countered by their inaccessibility.” (Yashodhara Dalmia, “A Metaphor for Modernity,” The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 110-111)

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