09 June,2011 12:25 PM IST | | Sachin Kalbag
MF Husain, arguably India's most celebrated painter, died in London late last night. He was 95, and had been unwell for some time
Sources close to the family told MiD DAY that his body would not be brought to India for burial, and that his last rites would be conducted in London.
Husain, who came under intense criticism following his controversial paintings on Hindu goddesses, had been on a self-imposed exile since 2006, and had vowed to never return to India. He had been living in Dubai and London, and was offered citizenship by Qatar in January 2010. He had accepted the offer.
One of India's greatest masters on the world art stage, Husain's paintings regularly fetched over $1 million at auctions around the world. His career began in the mid-1940s when he started painting film posters, but armed with prodigious talent, he was quickly accepted by the art community in Mumbai (then Bombay). In 1947, he joined the Progressive Artists' Group, headed by another art legend, FN Souza.
One of his most controversial paintings was the depiction of Mother India in the nude and was superimposed on a map of India. After a series of sustained protests by Hindu groups, he withdrew the painting from an exhibition, and later apologised.
Managing Trustee and Honorary Director of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai Tasneem Mehta confirmed the news to MiD DAY.
Speaking from London, Dadiba Pundole, owner of Pundole Art Gallery said that he had visited the artist at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital in South Kensington on Wednesday, and the artist, who had been admitted a day before, didn't look critical.
Husain's health had worsened following a heart attack in March that had gone undetected.
(With inputs from Tinaz Nooshian)
