Artist M F Husain dies in exile in London

MF Husain's death went unnoticed in London, where he breathed his last. Except at two leading auction houses, Christie's and Bonhams, where his fans lapped up his works for twice the estimated price

Danish Khan

Mumbai Mirror

At the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospital in London's west end South Kensington, not many knew who MF Husain was.

Sources at the hospital told Mumbai Mirror that 95-year-old Husain was brought to the hospital a very sick man. His health deteriorated rapidly at the hospital and eventually he stopped responding to treatment. At 2.30 am local time, he breathed his last.

At the time of going to press, Husain's body was still at the hospital morgue and details of his funeral were awaited. Although some believe that he would be buried in London according to his wishes, there are others who believe that with the Indian government willing to offer assistance to bury him in India, the family may reconsider. However official details are still awaited.

Unlike in India where fans throng hospital gates at the demise of their favourite celebrity, the staff at Brompton hospital barely knew Husain or his work. "I heard on the radio this morning that India's Picasso passed away at my hospital, was he really such a famous figure in India," a hospital administrator asked us when we visited the hospital.

A small paragraph in London's Evening Standard said that 'India's "Piccaso" dies and said that acquiring Husain's work became a status symbol among the wealthy Indians. News media in London briefly mentioned about his death but unlike the Indian press that made Husain headlines everywhere, Husain's death in UK went fairly unnoticed.

Fountain House, another prestigious apartment block where Husain lived, bore a sombre look. The concierge remembered him as a "reserved" person. The only place in London that showed much interest in Husain today was the auction house Christie's a few blocks away, where two of Husain's works went under the hammer.

His untitled work fetched £37,250 almost the double of the estimated price (£15000-£20000) while his more famous painting Sita with the Golden Deer is expected to go anywhere between £50,000 - £70,000.

Arun Vadehra of the Vadehra Art Gallery, who was present at the auction said, "Christie's paid their respects and announced that Husain saab passed away."

Hannah Schmidt of Christie's called Husain's death a "loss of a great master, whose influence on modern and contemporary South Asian art is immeasurable. His leadership and contribution to the art world cannot be overstated and although we will miss him, he lives on forever in his art."

Earlier this week, another auction house Bonhams, sold three of Husain's works amounting to Rs. 2.32 crore, with one canvas depicting a horse and a woman going for Rs 1.23 crore alone.

Bonham's Andrew Currie told Mumbai Mirror that "Husain was a hugely significant figure in the history of Indian art and a legend. It was a real pleasure and privilege to play a role in selling his work."