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M.F. Husain

M.F. Husain

Birth name Maqbool Fida Husain

17 September 1915 (age 94)

Born
Pandharpur, Maharashtra, India

Nationality Qatar

Field Painting, Drawing

Training Sir J. J. School of Art

Maqbool Fida Husain, (born September 17, 1915, Pandharpur, Maharashtra, India) popularly
known as M F Husain, is an artist of Indian origin, and has produced a large collection of works
over a career spanning seven decades.

According to Forbes magazine, he has been called the "Picasso of India´. After a long,
successful career his work suddenly became controversial in 1996, when he was 81 years old,
following the publication of an article about nude images of Hindu deities painted in the 1970s.
Following death threats and legal actions, Husain ran away. There were 1,250 cases pending
against him all over India. But all were squashed aside and only 3 of them are remaining. In
January, 2010 he was offered citizenship of Qatar, which he accepted, thus relinquishing his
Indian citizenship (As the constitution of India does not allow dual citizenship). With this
development, Husain may not face trial for his alleged crimes in India.

"ersonal life and education

Husain comes from a Sulaimaani Bohra Indian family. His mother died when he was one and a
half years old. His father remarried and moved to Indore, where Husain went to school. In 1935,
he moved to Mumbai and was admitted to the Sir J. J. School of Art.

He started off by painting cinema hoardings.







Husain first became well-known as an artist in the late 1940s. In 1947, he joined the Progressive
Artists' Group, founded by Francis Newton Souza. This was a clique of young artists who wished
to break with the nationalist traditions established by the Bengal school of art and to encourage
an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level. In 1952, his first solo exhibition was
held at Zürich and over the next few years, his work was widely seen in Europe and U.S.. In
1955, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shree prize by the Government of India.




In 1967, he made his first film, 
   

 
. It was shown at the Berlin Film
Festival and won a Golden Bear

M. F. Husain was a special invitee along with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1971.
He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in
1986. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.


 

Husain went on to become the highest paid painter in India. His single canvases have fetched up
to $2 million at a recent Christie's auction.

He has also worked (produced & directed) on few movies, including 6 6 (with his
muse Madhuri Dixit who was the subject of a series of his paintings which he signed ). The
film was intended as a tribute to Ms. Dixit herself. In this film she can be seen portraying various
forms and manifestations of womanhood including the muse of Kalidasa, the Mona Lisa, a rebel,
and musical euphoria. He went on to make     
 
(with Tabu). His
autobiography is being made into a movie tentatively titled    
, starring
Shreyas Talpade as the young Husain.
The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) (USA, Massachusetts) showed a solo exhibition from 4
November 2006 to 3 June 2007. It exhibited Husain¶s paintings inspired by the Hindu epic,
Mahabharata.

At the age of 92 Husain was to be given the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award by the
government of Kerala . The announcement led to controversy in Kerala and some Sangh Parivar
and cultural organisations campaigned against the granting of the award and petitioned the
Kerala courts. The Kerala High Court granted an intermin order to stay the granting of the award
until the petition had been disposed of.

In early 2008, Husain¶s V6  
, a large diptych, from the
Hindu epic, fetched $1.6 million, setting a world record at Christie's   
 
 
!


 sale.


 
In the 1990s some of Husain's works became controversial because of their portrayal of Hindu
deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner. The paintings in question were created in
1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed in " 
 
, a
Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter
or Butcher". In response, eight criminal complaints were filed against Husain. In 2004, Delhi
High Court dismissed these complaints of #!
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%
#.

The controversy escalated to the extent that in 1998 Husain's house was attacked by Hindu
groups like Bajrang Dal and art works were vandalised. The leadership of Shiv Sena endorsed
the attack. Twenty six Bajrang Dal activists were arrested by the police. Protests against Husain
also led to the closure of an exhibition in London, England.

In February 2006, Husain was charged with 



  !! because of his nude
portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.

A series of cases were brought against him and a court case related to the alleged obscene
depiction of Hindu goddesses in his paintings resulted in issuing a non-bailable warrant against
Husain after he failed to respond to summons. There were also reportedly death threats. The
artist left the country stating that "matters are so legally complicated that I have been advised not
to return home.". Now living in Dubai and London, he continues to stay away from India, but has
expressed a strong desire to return, despite fears that he may be arrested in connection with these
cases. A recent Supreme Court order has suspended an arrest warrant for Husain. The law
ministry has examined half-a-dozen works by Husain and told the government that prosecutors
would have a strong case against him if they sued him for deliberately hurting religious feelings.

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‘nil Karanjai (June 27, 1940 - March 18, 2001) was an accomplished Indian artist. Born in East
Bengal, he was educated in Banaras, where his family settled subsequent to the Partition of the
Indian subcontinent in 1947. As a small child he had spent long hours playing with clay to make
toys and arrows. He also began very early to draw animals and plants, or whatever inspired him.
In 1956 he dropped out of school to become a full time student at Bharatiya Kala Kendra, headed
by Karnaman Singh, a master of the Bengal School and a Nepali by origin. This teacher
encouraged Anil to experiment widely and to study the art of every culture. Anil remained here
until 1960, exhibiting regularly and teaching other students. During the same period, he practiced
miniature painting at Bharat Kala Bhavan (Banaras) under the eye of the last court painter to the
Maharaja of Banaras. He also enrolled at Banaras Polytechnic to learn clay modeling and metal
casting.

The Revolutionary 1960s

Throughout the revolutionary 1960s, Anil was at the forefront of the Indian and international
politico-cultural movement. In 1962, with Karunanidhan Mukhopadhyay, he co-founded United
Artists. Their studio, named µDevil¶s Workshop¶, attracted artists, writers, poets and musicians
from across India and abroad. The group established the first art gallery of Banaras in a rundown
teashop, Paradise Cafe, frequented by some of this vibrant city¶s most colourful characters. Anil
and others of the group also at this time lived in a commune and exchanged ideas and
experiences with µseekers¶ from many countries.
Anil Karanjai was a very active member of the renowned Bengali radical group, Hungry
Generation, otherwise known as the Hungryalism movement, composed
in the main of writers and poets; Anil and Karunanidhan were the chief Hungryalism artists. Anil
was associated with the Beat Generation when Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky interacted
with the Hungryalists during their sojourn in India. The Hungryalists were based in Patna,
Calcutta and Banaras and they also forged important contacts with the avant garde in Nepal. Anil
created numerous drawings for Hungryalist publications. He also contributed posters and poems.
And he was a founder of the little magazine movement in India. In 1969, he moved to New Delhi
where he organized and participated in a µLittle Magazine Exhibition¶ at Delhi Shilpi Chakra.

Æ1940-2001)
Born in east Bengal, Anil Karanjai was trained in Banaras under two of India's last great classical
masters: Karnaman Singh of Bharatiya Kala Kendra, an exponent of the famous Bengal School
and a Nepali by origin and Sharada Prasad of Bharat Kala Bhavan (Banaras Hindu University),
who hailed from the long line of miniature painters attached to the royal court of Benares. Even
before completing his training, he began to experiment with different techniques, media, styles
and subjects, which enabled him to express his experience of contemporary Indian society.

By the age of thirty, Karanjai succeeded in making an impact in art circles throughout the
country. He was acclaimed for his technical competence and unique vision, becoming the
recipient of a National award in 1972. But, unlike so many artists who cease to evolve when
similarly commended and honored, he continued to refine his techniques and to expand his range
of styles and subjects. Between 1974 and 1978 he lived in the USA where he studied the masters
of Western Art.

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 c  ÷ 
6eorge Catlin

6eorge Catlin

6
 by William Fisk, 1849

July 26,1796
Born
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Died December 23, 1872 (aged 76)

Nationality American

Field Painting

Influenced Charles Deas

6eorge Catlin (July 26, 1796 ± December 23, 1872) was an American painter, author and
traveler who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West.
BIOGRAPHY
Biography
Catlin was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. As a child growing up in Pennsylvania, Catlin
spent many hours hunting, fishing, and looking for American Indian artifacts. His fascination
with Native Americans was kindled by his mother, who told him stories of the Western Frontier
and how she was captured by a tribe when she was a young girl. Years later, a group of Native
Americans came through Philadelphia dressed in their colorful costumes and made quite an
impression on Catlin. Following a brief career as a lawyer, he produced two major collections of
paintings of American Indians and published a series of books chronicling his travels among the
native peoples of North, Central and South America. Claiming his interest in America¶s
'vanishing race' was sparked by a visiting American Indian delegation in Philadelphia, he set out
to record the appearance and customs of America¶s native people.

Catlin began his journey in 1830 when he accompanied General William Clark on a diplomatic
mission up the Mississippi River into Native American territory. St. Louis became Catlin¶s base
of operations for five trips he took between 1830 and 1836, eventually visiting fifty tribes. Two
years later he ascended the Missouri River over 3000 km to Fort Union, where he spent several
weeks among indigenous people still relatively untouched by European civilization. He visited
eighteen tribes, including the Pawnee, Omaha, and Ponca in the south and the Mandan, Hidatsa,
Cheyenne, Crow, Assiniboine, and [Blackfeet] to the north. There, at the edge of the frontier, he
produced the most vivid and penetrating portraits of his career. Later trips along the Arkansas,
Red and Mississippi rivers as well as visits to Florida and the Great Lakes resulted in over 500
paintings and a substantial collection of artifacts.

When Catlin returned east in 1838, he assembled these paintings and numerous artifacts into his
Indian Gallery and began delivering public lectures which drew on his personal recollections of
life among the American Indians. Catlin traveled with his Indian Gallery to major cities such as
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and New York. He hung his paintings ³salon style´²side by side and one
above another²to great effect. Visitors identified each painting by the number on the frame as
listed in Catlin¶s catalogue. Soon afterwards he began a lifelong effort to sell his collection to the
U.S. government. The touring Indian Gallery did not attract the paying public Catlin needed to
stay financially sound, and [Congress] rejected his initial petition to purchase the works, so in
1839 Catlin took his collection across the Atlantic for a tour of European capitals.

Catlin the showman and entrepreneur initially attracted crowds to his Indian Gallery in London,
Brussels, and Paris. The French critic Charles Baudelaire remarked on Catlin¶s paintings, ³M.
Catlin has captured the proud, free character and noble expression of these splendid fellows in a
masterly way.´

Catlin¶s dream was to sell his Indian Gallery to the U.S. government so that his life¶s work
would be preserved intact. His continued attempts to persuade various officials in Washington,
D.C. failed. He was forced to sell the original Indian Gallery, now 607 paintings, due to personal
debts in 1852. Industrialist Joseph Harrison took possession of the paintings and artifacts, which
he stored in a factory in Philadelphia, as security. Catlin spent the last 20 years of his life trying
to re-create his collection. This second collection of paintings is known as the "Cartoon
Collection" since the works are based on the outlines he drew of the works from the 1830s.

GEORGE CATLIN¶S PAINTINGS.

‘ ICE NEE

  

'6
 by Alice Neel, 1972

January 28, 1900

Born
Merion Square, Pennsylvania

Died October 13, 1984 (aged 84)

Nationality American

Field Painting

‘lice Neel (January 28, 1900 ± October 13, 1984) was an American artist known for her oil on
canvas portraits of friends, family, lovers, poets, artists and strangers. Her paintings are notable
for their expressionistic use of line and color, psychological acumen, and emotional intensity.

Alice Neel was born in Merion Square, Pennsylvania then moved to the rural town of Colwyn,
Pennsylvania when she was about three months old. She took the Civil Service exam and got a
high-paying clerical position after high school in order to help support her parents. After three
years of work, taking art classes by night in Philadelphia, Neel finally enrolled full-time in the
Philadelphia School of Design for Women. Neel often said that she chose to attend an all-girls
school so as not to be distracted from her art by the temptations of the opposite sex.
In 1926 she became pregnant with her first child. Following the birth of her daughter, Santillana,
Alice returned to her parents¶ home in Colwyn. Carlos followed soon after, and the family
moved to New York City. Just before Santillana¶s first birthday, she died of diphtheria. The
trauma caused by Santillana¶s death infused the content of Neel¶s paintings, setting a precedent
for the themes of motherhood, loss, and anxiety that permeated her work for the duration of her
career.

Immediately following Santillana¶s death, Neel became pregnant with her second child, Isabetta.
Isabetta¶s birth in 1928 inspired the creation of "Well Baby Clinic", a bleak portrait of mothers
and babies in a maternity clinic more reminiscent of an insane asylum than a nursery.

In the spring of 1930, Carlos returned to Cuba, taking Isabetta with him. Mourning the loss of
her husband and daughter, Neel suffered a massive nervous breakdown. After a brief period of
hospitalization, she attempted suicide. She was placed in the suicide ward of the Philadelphia
General Hospital. Deemed stable almost a year later, Neel was released from the sanitorium in
1931 and returned to her parents¶ home. Following an extended visit with her close friend and
frequent subject, Nadya Olyanova, Neel returned to New York.

Toward the end of the 1960s, interest in Neel¶s work intensified. The momentum of the
Women¶s Movement led to increased attention, and Neel became an icon for Feminists. In 1970
Neel was commissioned to paint Feminist activist Kate Millett for the cover of Time magazine.
In 1974, Neel's work was given a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American
Art, and posthumously, in the summer of 2000, also at the Whitney.

By the mid-1970s, Neel had gained celebrity and stature as an important American artist. In
1979, President Jimmy Carter presented her with a National Women¶s Caucus for Art award for
outstanding achievement. Neel¶s reputation was at its height at the time of her death in 1984.

Neel's life and works are featured in the documentary "Alice Neel," which premiered at the 2007
Slamdance Film Festival and was directed by her grandson, Andrew Neel. The film was given a
New York theatrical release in April of that year.

Alice Neel will be the subject of the upcoming retrospective "Alice Neel: Painted Truths"
organized by The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, and on view March 21-June 15, 2010.
The exhibition will travel to Whitechapel Gallery, London and Moderna Museet Malmö, Malmö.

The Estate of Alice Neel is represented by David Zwirner, New York, Victoria Miro Gallery,
London and Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Berlin, and is advised by Jeremy Lewison Ltd.
‘ ICE NEE
 "‘INTIN6