" Between the Spider and the Lamp" Painting by MF Hussain
Stamp issued in 1982 on Contemporary Art at the Festival of India
Art and Artists
M.F. Husain
Celebrated Indian artist MF Husain, who earned both fame for his paintings, died in London recently on 9 June after being unwell for over a month. He was 95.Popularly known as MF and regarded as "Picasso of India", the artist breathed his last at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London . His work appeared on 3 Indian stamps issued in 1982 and 1988.
Paintings by MF Husain and S H Raza the modern and contemporary artists on stamps issued for Festival of India in 1982.
FDC Image source : Ashwani Dubey – Gorakhpur
Three paintings by M F Hussain topped a Bonham's auction in London, going under the hammer for Rs 2.32 crore with an untitled oil work in which the legendary artist combines his iconic subject matters - horse and woman - fetching Rs 1.23 crore alone. The auction house's Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art sale represented artists from eight countries - India, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Tilak's Proclamation " Swaraj is my Birthright" - Painting by M. F. Hussain on stamps issued in1988
Tagore FDC designed by Hussain
The official FDC designed by MF Hussain which was released along with the Tagore 125 Birth anniversary stamp on 8 May 1987. The FDC is personally autographed by M F Hussain in Bengali and English (a very rare gesture from the late artist) The FDC is from the collection of Moloy Sarkar of Kolkata. – Sekhar Chakrabarti, Kolkata
Auction News…
The nation mourns for MF Husain, but as the dust settles on his grave, it is business as usual in the art mart. Here, death sells really well. The veteran artist’s works are still being purchased conservatively. The day he breathed his last, two of his untitled canvases got a lukewarm response at a Christie’s auction in London. One came under the hammer for Rs 53.5 lakh; the other sold for Rs 27.5 lakh .
Art pundits have always theorised that the prolific Husain led to more supply than demand, leading to a minimal price rise for his work. But the fact is that the art market is full of fake Husain horses. If in 2006, two of his water colours were withdrawn from a Christie’s auction over questions of authenticity.
Maqbool Fida Husain (17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011) the eminent Indian painter. influenced a whole generation of artists in the country. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1955, Padma Bhushan in 1973 and Padma Vibhshan in 1991.
His narrative paintings, executed in a modified Cubist style, can be caustic and funny as well as serious and sombre. His themes—usually treated in series—include topics as diverse as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the British raj, and motifs of Indian urban and rural life. One of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Indian artists of the 20th century, he also received recognition as a printmaker, photographer, and fimmaker.
Website : http://www.mfhussain.com/
Stamps on art and artists
Click : Art on Indian Stamps
Club News
News from Chattisgarh Philatelic Society
Chhattisgarh Philatelic Association informs that it has not issued any booklet on Rabindranath Tagore on 7 May 2011 as projected by some of the philatelic sites. The association informs all that it has never permitted and authorized printing and release of any such booklet.
