It was late evening on Tuesday, June 7, and I looked at a work of art on the feature wall of my home in Dubai. I thought of a wonderful man with whom I had brief personal encounters but numerous engagements with his art. Then I sent a text message to his son enquiring on the wellbeing and health of his father and received a reply: “All well. In London.”
On that day perhaps he was indeed well but today, June 9, we mourn the death of M.F. Husain.
M.F. Husain was the leading international artist of South Asia, originating from India and recently naturalized as a Qatari. My first personal encounter with Husain was in Dubai at a dinner invitation of a friend in 2008 where he arrived in a Bentley and walked barefoot while it rained.
I sat with him for hours and he entertained us not by his visual art but by words of wisdom. One statement that bears an impression on my mind was, “You shall always find the world in a state or manner that you would like the world to be in.”
Even at that age, he was full of energy and enthusiasm and despite being at a dinner, he had plans to go for a midnight screening of “Slumdog Millionaire.”
My final encounter with Husain was on April 8, 2010 at the Capital Club in Dubai where he showcased his art to an audience of around 300 people. By then my wife, Lyna, and I had recently acquired an art piece by Husain at “Art Dubai” through a leading New York based gallery specializing in South Asian Art.
Our art piece was not a signed work; Husain had produced it over 20 years ago and was part of the Chester Herwitz family collection. (Chester Herwitz, who died in 1999, lived in Massachusetts and had one of the world’s largest private collections of Asian art, including scores of Husain’s works.)
We had a copied image of the art work which we shared with him at the exhibition. He told us that it was a fake.
My wife and I were in a state of shock. We simply couldn’t imagine paying for this work by “Picasso of India,” only to have the artist himself declare it to be a fake. Husain’s son Mustafa requested that he review the original artwork.
Lyna and I had a sleepless night. We kept calling the gallery in New York; they assured that it came with a full provenance. First thing in the morning, we took the artwork straight to Mustafa’ house. He requested that we leave it for their review as Husain was around in Dubai before he would depart to Qatar.
While at home on that Friday afternoon, we received a text message from Mustafa: “Mabrook! Your art work has been signed.”
Hearing this, we rushed to his house and were pleased to see on Mustafa’s phone a photographic image of Husain holding our painting and confirming the authenticity of his strokes on the painting. Everyone I know (including the art gallery) was in a state of disbelief that he would actually authenticate as a goodwill gesture and not have to compensate through monetary means. (Some people report that Husain would typically charge $10,000 to authenticate his paintings.)
Out of deep interest, I started reviewing his art works at leading art auctions since. On a recent trip to London, Lyna and I were pleased to see his works were previewed at Bonhams auction house. We managed to acquire signed prints of Husain, which we’d seen while visiting his Dubai home last year. We now have a series of those precious prints.
Very recently I offered one of them to my sister, Noreen Fatima, who insisted that she would pay for the print and not accept it as a gift. Now I wonder how I should determine the true worth of the priceless prints.
On that day perhaps he was indeed well but today, June 9, we mourn the death of M.F. Husain.
M.F. Husain was the leading international artist of South Asia, originating from India and recently naturalized as a Qatari. My first personal encounter with Husain was in Dubai at a dinner invitation of a friend in 2008 where he arrived in a Bentley and walked barefoot while it rained.
I sat with him for hours and he entertained us not by his visual art but by words of wisdom. One statement that bears an impression on my mind was, “You shall always find the world in a state or manner that you would like the world to be in.”
Even at that age, he was full of energy and enthusiasm and despite being at a dinner, he had plans to go for a midnight screening of “Slumdog Millionaire.”
My final encounter with Husain was on April 8, 2010 at the Capital Club in Dubai where he showcased his art to an audience of around 300 people. By then my wife, Lyna, and I had recently acquired an art piece by Husain at “Art Dubai” through a leading New York based gallery specializing in South Asian Art.
We had a copied image of the art work which we shared with him at the exhibition. He told us that it was a fake.
My wife and I were in a state of shock. We simply couldn’t imagine paying for this work by “Picasso of India,” only to have the artist himself declare it to be a fake. Husain’s son Mustafa requested that he review the original artwork.
Lyna and I had a sleepless night. We kept calling the gallery in New York; they assured that it came with a full provenance. First thing in the morning, we took the artwork straight to Mustafa’ house. He requested that we leave it for their review as Husain was around in Dubai before he would depart to Qatar.
While at home on that Friday afternoon, we received a text message from Mustafa: “Mabrook! Your art work has been signed.”
Hearing this, we rushed to his house and were pleased to see on Mustafa’s phone a photographic image of Husain holding our painting and confirming the authenticity of his strokes on the painting. Everyone I know (including the art gallery) was in a state of disbelief that he would actually authenticate as a goodwill gesture and not have to compensate through monetary means. (Some people report that Husain would typically charge $10,000 to authenticate his paintings.)
Out of deep interest, I started reviewing his art works at leading art auctions since. On a recent trip to London, Lyna and I were pleased to see his works were previewed at Bonhams auction house. We managed to acquire signed prints of Husain, which we’d seen while visiting his Dubai home last year. We now have a series of those precious prints.
Very recently I offered one of them to my sister, Noreen Fatima, who insisted that she would pay for the print and not accept it as a gift. Now I wonder how I should determine the true worth of the priceless prints.
