M. F. Husain

Biography

M. F. Husain was born on September 17, 1915, in Pandharpur. He was an Indian artist, filmmaker, screenwriter, film producer, photographer, politician, and art figure. Husain was one of the founders of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group and one of the most famous and internationally recognized Indian artists of the 20th century. His work is associated with Indian modernism of the 1940s. The early Bombay Progressive Artists' Group employed modern techniques and was inspired by the 'new' India after the Partition of 1947. M. F. Husain is known for his bold, colorful narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style that can be both satirical and humorous, as well as serious and somber. His themes include diverse subjects such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, British rule, and motifs from Indian urban and rural life. Among the genres Husain worked in was portraiture. He was connected with cultural and national communities of India, Qatar, British India, and the Indian Union. M. F. Husain passed away on June 9, 2011, in London.