MUMBAI — On April 1, 1965, in an article published in the Times of India titled “Rare Power and Clarity Part of Husain Make-up,” the paper's art critic Richard Bartholomew painted, in a matter of just a few lines, a vivid portrait of the artist M. F. Husain, who had, by then, become a close friend of Bartholomew. “Power, and movement, which itself is a sign of mystery; the clarity that comes between moments of tenderness and brilliant discovery; the quiet, soft spoken man who is tall and who stands on his own feet — Husain walks about barefooted these days — the gentle and the patriarchal; all this is part of the Husain picture,” Bartholomew wrote before moving on to critically appraise Husain’s solo show at New Delhi's Sridharani Gallery. Unfortunately, Bartholomew’s excellent portrait of Husain is not part of “Imaging a Legend,” a tribute to the late artist who died almost exactly a year ago at Mumbai's Tao Art Gallery. But the show, curated by Fawzan Husain and Niyatee Shinde, brings together over 80 photographs of Husain at different stages of his life and career created by some of the country’s leading artists.
It’s no small feat to put together an exhibition of this size, especially considering the backlash that Husain's work, despite the artist's death, continues to receive from fundamentalist Hindu groups that are still angered by his portrayal of Hindu gods and goddesses. “The gallery did get some threatening calls,” said Fawzan Husain. “But we were very adamant that we do the show. We as artists cannot start throwing stones on buses and trains. If there was some way to come forward all together and put up a show where we all remember it, we seized the opportunity.”
“Everybody chipped in,” said Fawzan Husain. He approached fellow photographers with the idea, asking them if they could spare two or three of their best shots of Husain. “Everybody felt the way I felt,” he said.
While the show isn’t commercial in its nature and intent, Fawzan Husain said that anyone interested in purchasing any of the photographs could get in touch directly with the photographers in question. The exhibition includes a tender portrait by Husain’s late architect friend and photographer Habib Rahman and concludes with a rare photograph of Husain’s funeral taken by photographer Pablo Bartholomew, who happened to be in London at the time of the artist's death.
"Imaging a Legend: A Tribute to M.F. Husain" is on view at Tao Art Gallery until June 24. Click the slide show to see works from the exhibition.
This article also appears on ARTINFO India.