A museum dedicated to Maqbool Fida Husain, India’s priciest Modernist, will open in Doha, Qatar, next month.
‘The Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum’ will open on November 28 dedicated to tracing Husain’s artistic journey, from the 1950s until his death in 2011. Curated by Noof Mohammed of the Qatar Foundation, it will showcase the influences, philosophies, and memories that shaped his practice.
Among the work on view will be a series of paintings commissioned by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the chairperson of Qatar Foundation, and inspired by Arab civilisation. Husain completed over 35 of these works -- he was reportedly commissioned to complete 99 paintings --- and they will feature prominently in the galleries of the museum, a release stated.
The building has been designed by Delhi- based architect Martand Khosla. It mirrors a sketch made by Husain during his final years, which he spent in self exile starting 2006. He divided his time between Doha, Dubai and London, and received Qatari citizenship in 2010, months before he breathed his last in London.
Husain, whose flamboyant style and prolific work combined to make him one of the country’s most well-known artists during his own lifetime, ran into trouble when a nude painting of a female form purported to be a deity became the target of protests in 1996.
Over the following decade, he continued to attract protests by right wing organisations, finally prompting his exit from his country of birth.
One of the early members of the Progressive Artists’ group, Husain was born in Pandharpur in 1915. He moved to Mumbai and initially worked on making cinema signboards.
“Conceived as a space for inspiration and creativity, Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum reflects Qatar Foundation’s dedication to providing spaces for everyone to explore, enjoy, learn from, and be inspired by art and culture,” Kholoud Al-Ali, executive director (Community Engagement and Programming), Qatar Foundation, stated in the release.