Legendary M . F. HUSSAIN - THE PAINTER , FILM MAKER .. or SAY PICASSO OF INDIA ''' PASSES AWAY IN LONDON

India's most famous modern artist M.F. Husain died on Thursday in London, media reports said citing family members.Husain, who was aged 95 and known as the "Picasso of India", died at the Royal Brompton hospital in London.

"India didn't have the privilege of seeing him in his last moments, that is a huge loss for this country," Jitish Kallat, one of India's leading young artists, told NDTV news.

"As an artist several decades younger than him, I feel like a part of the canopy has blown off," he said. "He evolved the public notion of what it meant to be an artist in this country."

Maqbool Fida Husain, a Muslim formerly based in Mumbai, was accused by Hindu hardliners of insulting their faith for portraying goddesses in the nude in some of his paintings - a depiction that he said symbolised purity.Following threats by a radical Hindu group and thousands of legal cases filed against him for offending "Hindu sentiment," he moved to Qatar in 2006 and accepted Qatari citizenship in 2010.He said he was content to be a non-resident Indian and that he had no qualms about losing his nationality, as India does not allow dual citizenship."What's citizenship? It's just a piece of paper," he said. "Wherever I find love I will accept it."Ninety-nine percent of Indian people loved me and they still love me. I'm an Indian-origin painter. I will remain so to my last breath," he said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condoled the death of M F Husain. In his condolence message, Singh termed Husain's demise as a “national loss”.

Life-time achievements
From the year 1990 till 2011, MF Husain had been the highest paid painter in India.
The luminary was honored with several prestigious awards including the Padma Shree in 1955, the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.
Besides his paintings, Husain will also be remembered for his movies like ‘Gaja Gamini’ that stars his muse Madhuri Dixit and ‘Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities’ featuring Tabu.

His six-decade career began in the late 1940s when he joined the Progressive Artists' Group founded by Francis Newton Souza. These group of young artists aimed to disengage from the idyllic nationalist traditions of the Bengal school of art to imbue in their works a more avant-garde approach.

He is famously known for his Shwetambari exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai which consisted of two halls masked with barren white cloth, coils of which embraced the floor with torn newspapers.

Billed as one of the most expensive artists in the subcontinent and in Asia, Husain leaves behind six children and a fleet of 13 swanky sports cars that included a trademark red Ferrari and the latest model of a Bugatti that he acquired year before last on his birthday. And of course a vast legacy of art - unparalleled.He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1991. He was also honoured with the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award by the government of Kerala. 

The passing away of Maqbool Fida Husain, India's leading international face in contemporary 20th century art, marks the end of a golden era in India's tryst with new-age art in an Indian idiom.

 AAJ ART FORTNIGHTLY : NEWS & VIEWS  9th June 2011