Signed, dated and inscribed 'Husain / 14.VIII.90 / London' (upper right)

Titled in the artist's handwriting in a book cataloging the owner's collection of M.F. Husain's works.
Complete title: "I was Conferred the Knighthood with Three Medals and a Star for painting Horses for more than Half Century."

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

(The paintings of the present owner were catalogued by the artist in a book, a copy of the page illustrating the painting and title from this book accompanies the lot.)

LOT ESSAY
Maqbool Fida Husain (1915 - 2011) enjoyed an illustrious career filled with numerous successes and achievements that brought traction to his art for the better and the worse. His art, now almost synonymous with Modern Indian art, made him popular with the people but would ultimately be the same reason he was forced into a self-exile in 2006. Before the controversies, however, Husain was widely celebrated and hailed as the painter of the people, receiving numerous accolades and even elected as a member of India's parliament, albeit briefly.

Titled 'I Was Conferred the Knighthood with Three Medals and a Star for painting Horses for more than Half Century' and painted in 1990, the current lot reveals M.F. Husain's insightful reflection on the successes he achieved in his artistic career while poking fun at himself for his lifelong fascination with painting horses - a familiar theme in his repertoire and one he repeatedly comes back to throughout his long career.

In this larger-than-life self-portrait, he portrayed himself wearing a ceremonial military uniform on top of a galloping horse, decorated with what appears to be the Star of India along with three prestigious medals of civilian honours he had received through the years - the Padma Shri (1955), the Padma Bhushan (1973), and the Padma Vibhushan (1989).

Unlike most of the characters in his canvases which are often faceless and anonymous, his self-portraits are often illustrated with distinguishable facial features, as seen here. Also noticeable is his signature portrayal of the equine form: without its hooves showing, a mouth that resembles that of a dragon's - masculine and feral - and hinds that are distinctly feminine, making it the perfect combination of strength and grace.

The horse is arguably one of his most significant motifs and a pivotal part of the artist's oeuvre since he first embarked on the subject in 1951. Avowing his captivation and fascination with the equine figure throughout the different stages of his career, Husain said in one of his interviews: "My horses are like lightning, cut [sic] across many horizons. Seldom their hooves are shown. They hop around the spaces. From the battlefield of 'Karbala' to Bankura terra-cotta, from the Chinese Tse Pie Hung horse to St. Marco horse, from ornate armoured 'Duldul' to challenging white of 'Ashwamedh'[...] the cavalcade of my horses is multidimensional."

Text Reference:
Artist Statement, Husain, Mumbai, 1987, pg. 83