Signed in Hindi and Urdu (lower right)

PROVENANCE
Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi
Acquired from the above by the previous owner in circa 1967 while working in New Delhi for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Christie's / Lot 69 / South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art / 11 June 2014 / London
Private collection, Dubai

M.F. Husain's endless quest for his cultural roots and his open-minded willingness to absorb diverse influences has made him almost synonymous with modern Indian art. He began his career by painting billboards for feature films and making furniture designs and toys, to earn a living. When he took up painting as an art form, however, he returned time and again to themes of blended folk, tribal and mythological art to create vibrantly contemporary, living art forms. Husain's paintings reflect his love of India and his knowledge of rural life. He depicted the icons of Indian culture, through the ages, seeking to capture the quintessence of his subject.

He employed an impasto technique to create texture in the present lot. The faces are monumental, simplified in a modernist manner and depicted in a roughly-hewn way. "Husain's men and women, outwardly simple and unsophisticated, are highly conscious beings. They are conscious of being channels through which life runs its course. Very often they are caught listening and intent upon that flood within them, tense because of what they hear, with eyes of solemn curiosity and a mantle of silence around them. Even in groups, sitting or standing together, these men and women are supremely solitary. They do not communicate with each other. They remain locked in binding compassion, in a unity of color and composition divided by a wondrously understanding line." (S. S. Kapur, Husain, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1961, p. v.)