MF Husain's Painting Sells for Rs 118 Crore: Will India Embrace its Icon Again?

Fourteen years after his death, MF Husain continues to shine as the true showman that he was known as. At a recent Christie’s auction in New York for Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, his work titled Gram Yatra (1954) hit the hammer for $13.7 million (Rs 118 crore). This sale makes Husain the most expensive Indian artist ever, and the only one to have crossed the $10 million mark. It’s a record-breaking sale that truly befits the Padma Vibhushan legend.Gram Yatra (1954) is a canvas painting that spans almost 14 feet across 13 vignettes. Each vignette represents rural Indian life, such as child-rearing, grinding wheat, farming, fetching water in pots, milking cows, and music and folk dance. The central image portrays a man and woman riding an ox-drawn cart.The title, meaning ‘village pilgrimage’, is painted in earthy tones of ochre, browns, and deep red. It is the best display of Husain's art philosophy of celebrating the diversity and dynamism of a newly independent India. It is an exemplary example of nation-building through art.Prophet, Qatar, MF Husain, and Tendency to See Tolerance as SecularismThe news of this landmark painting took me back to my conversation with Husain in 2008 at his home in Dubai. “(My work is) a nucleus of Modern Indian Art. I was very much aware that we have to evolve a language which is our own, based on our roots, our culture. My language (art style) is modern, but the subject is Indian. The only landscape is my country, and I have kept that intact,” Husain told me, raising his finger in the air emphatically.This statement by 94-year-old Husain was layered in emotions of patriotism, love for India’s diverse culture, and the personal hurt that he was going through. He was in his third year of self-imposed exile at that time, after being hounded by court cases and FIRs lodged against him on allegations of obscenity and hurting religious sentiments.It’s important to note that in 2008, the Delhi High Court quashed criminal proceedings against Husain in some of these cases when Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul highlighted the value of artistic expression and the right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. The Supreme Court upheld this judgment in 2011. Husain recalled his early days to me, “In 1947, when India got freedom, I was doing a job in a furniture shop and painting some cinema hoardings. But after 1947, when I saw the charged atmosphere and celebrations of Independence in Bombay, it triggered my imagination. I decided to be free from doing a job. I wanted to travel my entire life and only paint.” But even as he became a globetrotter, taking his art shows to different countries, he kept India close to him. “The only landscape in my mind was my country. I kept that intact and have worked on it in my entire life. I have only painted 10 percent of what I’ve seen. Ninety percent is still inside me—and one lifetime is not enough to take it all out. I need more than four lives for that.”MF HussainIn the final years of his life in exile, Husain was hysterically racing against time to finish multiple series of paintings, including one about the history of Indian civilisation, and another on 100 years of Indian cinema. As we entered the room of his luxury apartment in Dubai, the deep yellow walls were adorned with about 30 canvases, all dated 1956. He grandly announced, “You are now entering a room of history.” Each medium-sized work in the room carried a stamp of Gram Yatra (1954). They were similar, tiny vignettes showing rural life and Indian history in ochre and earthy colours. “These were priced at barely Rs 100 or Rs 150 at that time”, said Husain with a twinkle in his eyes, implying the skyrocketing prices that his works demanded decades later. This was called the Maria Collection, dedicated to his friend whom he gifted them to, but she never sold them all her life. She eventually returned the entire treasure back to him after 50 years, saying that they belonged to India.Today, the Maria Collection continues to face a custody battle between Husain’s children and has never entered the market. I was one of the lucky few to have a private viewing of it. “My favourite in this collection is symbolic where I show the birth of Buddha. You know when Buddha’s mother Maya was pregnant, she had a dream that she conceived an elephant. So, this nucleus is like her womb with the elephant inside it,” explained Husain with child-like excitement. Husain’s works from the 1950s, including Gram Yatra, are believed to be one of the best phases in his career given the intricate detailing in the works.Why Silence Marks the Birth Anniversary of MF HusainThe year 2025 has brought Husain back to the headlines.For nearly a decade, it seemed as if gallerists, art curators, and followers of art had forgotten the icon, more out of caution than choice. The Indian art world is now taking baby steps away from the fear of anti-Husain protests and the unofficial boycott of his works. Recently, the Delhi Art Gallery did an unprecedented retrospective show of the icon, showcasing 60 years of his works, with more than 100 pieces of art. It was the largest Husain show that the country saw in years. It received a heavy footfall of admirers, academics, and buyers. However, out of the 5,000 visitors, one person alleged that two paintings were offensive and intended to hurt religious sentiments. The Patiala House Court ordered the confiscation of the paintings but refused to file an FIR against the gallery as no cognisable offence was found.The acquisition of the Gram Yatra at Christie’s is a similar such baby step. Believed to have been bought by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), the work, which was tucked away at a hospital in Norway, will be coming back to India after over 70 years.However, the big question still remains: will the KNMA be able to display the canvas without fear of protests or confiscation?While wrapping up this piece, I was informed by a visitor to Pune’s Zapurza Art Museum that a Husain painting has been taken down from their permanent collection. Why? “Security threat."Was it an offensive painting? “No, it was just about Husain’s horses.”Can anyone justify this boycott? The answer lies with the people of India, who need to decide on how they will remember and celebrate a late legend who continues to put Modern Indian Art on the world map—both in life and in death. Sahar Zaman is an award-winning author and journalist. She is the founder of Hunar TV. This is an opinion piece. The views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

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MF Husain's Painting Sells for Rs 118 Crore: Will India Embrace its Icon Again?

India is now taking baby steps away from the unofficial boycott of MF Hussain's works, writes Sahar Zaman.

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