M. F. Husain

1913

Is born on September 17 in Pandharpur, Maharashtra. Goes through life making up his date and year of birth: his birth certificate is traced posthumously.

1919

His father moves to Indore.

1923-31

Studies at Government Sanyogita Ganj Primary School, Indore, and is tutored in Islamic studies by his stepmother’s father.

1932

A chance encounter with artist N. S. Bendre leads to his joining evening classes at Indore School of Art.

1934

Joins Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay, but is unable to continue following his father’s death.

1936

Arrives in Bombay determined to become a painter. With no money or even a place to stay, he sleeps on footpaths and supports himself by painting film hoardings under streetlights.

1941

Marries Fazila.

1942-47

Works with Fantasy furniture shop, designing nursery furniture and wooden toys.

1947

The Progressive Artists’ Group is established with founding members F. N. Souza, S. H. Raza, K. H. Ara, S. K. Bakre, H. A. Gade, and Husain. Husain wins an award in his very first participation at Bombay Art Society’s annual exhibition.

1948

Views an exhibition at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, assembled originally by the Royal Academy, London.

1949

Is part of the Progressives’ first exhibition in Baroda.

1950

Paints Man, a large oil painting symbolising the pain of Partition, its sombre colours emphasising the evil in the nature of man.

1952

Designs sets for Bal Chhabda’s film, Do Raha, along with S. K. Bakre. Travels to the World Peace Congress in Beijing, sponsored by the U.S.S.R. and China. In China, he is inspired by the horses painted by Chi Pei Shei. Has his first solo exhibition in Zurich.

1953

Visits Europe to view the works of modern masters like Paul Klee, Picasso, Matisse, Modigiliani, whose works he has only seen in books till then.

1954

Paints Passage of Time, which marks the beginning of his Horse series.

1955

Wins Lalit Kala Akademi’s national award; paints the mural-sized canvas, Zameen, now in the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

1956

Makes his iconic painting, Between the Spider and the Lamp. Exhibits thirty-four paintings in Czechoslovakia at Gallery Mannes, Prague, all of which are gifted to interpreter/translator Maria Jaroslav Zurkova—whom he falls in love with. She declines his marriage proposal.

1957

Establishes the Shilalekh Group with Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta, and V. S. Gaitonde.

1958

American collector Tom Keehn arranges an exhibition in New Delhi, ‘Eight Painters’, including Husain’s works. Husain paints portraits of the Keehn family.

1959

Is offered the John D. Rockefeller III Fund fellowship but declines it. Is awarded by the International Biennale, Tokyo.

1960

Visits Benares with Ram Kumar and renders its landscape in his unique style.

1961

Solo exhibitions in Tokyo and Rome.

1962

Has exhibitions in Bombay and New Delhi of his Rajasthan series.

1964

Gives up wearing shoes for a lifetime to mourn the death of Hindi poet Muktibodh. Among other reasons he proffers for abjuring shoes is his long-dead mother being unable to see him step into his father’s shoes, or in memory of an unrequited love. First U.S. exhibit at India House in New York.

1965

Visits Karbala, in Iraq, the site of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. His paintings of this period reflect his emotional turbulence as an artist.

1966

Is awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

1967

Directs Through the Eyes of a Painter for the Government of India’s Films Division. The film wins the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival and is acquired by Museum of Modern Art, New York.

1968

Completes and exhibits a series of twenty paintings on the Ramayana that he mounts on bullock carts to take through the villages of Maharashtra.

1969

A first-ever retrospective, ‘21 Years of Painting’, is organised at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, by Gallery Chemould.

1971

Begins his Mahabharata series for the Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil, to be exhibited alongside Pablo Picasso’s works.

1973

Is awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

Mid-70s

Paints his infamous portraits of Indira Gandhi as Durga riding a tiger during the Emergency, earning himself the opprobrium of the art world for his apparent sycophancy.

1979

First meeting with Mother Teresa, who embodies eternal maternal love to him; he welcomes her after receiving the Noble Peace Prize, sketches her face on the spot, and hands it to her, which she autographs with ‘God bless you’. This encounter begins Husain’s long engagement with Mother Teresa as muse, always represented by a faceless woman in her distinctive white-blue saree.

1982

Has an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. Paints the ceiling of government-owned Kanishka Hotel (now Hotel Shangrila), New Delhi. The murals are subsequently removed to Husain ni Gufa, Faridabad.

1984

Does portraits of Urdu poets Ghalib, Iqbal, and Faiz.

1985

Paints a series of portraits of Indira Gandhi following her assassination the previous year; and begins his series on the British Raj.

1986

Is nominated to the Rajya Sabha where he fails to make an impact over a five-year term. Publishes his drawings from Parliament as a book, Sansad Upanishad.

1990

Makes a series of paintings on Calcutta for the city’s tercentenary.

1991

Is awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.

1992-95

Works with Pritzker award winning architect Balkrishna Doshi on Husain-Doshi ni Gufa in Ahmedabad. He paints its interiors. It has subsequently been renamed Ambdavad ni Gufa.

1996

Hindu right wing fundamentalists take issue with his 1976 nude painting of Saraswati, and vandalise his paintings in Ahmedabad.

1998

Protesting against Husain’s depiction of Hanuman carrying a nude Sita, Husain’s house in Mumbai is attacked.

2000

Makes Hindi feature film Gaja Gamini with leading actress Madhuri Dixit.

2003

‘88 Husains in Oils’ exhibition travels to Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai.

2004

Makes his second film, Meenaxi - A Tale of Three Cities, with the actress Tabu as muse, which receives flak from Muslim organisations. Makes a series of twenty-five paintings for ‘Our Planet Called Earth’, a commission from businessman Guru Swarup Srivastava that turns out to be self-sponsored.

2006

Tired of facing right wing extremists and summons to appear in court, flees to a life of self-exile in Dubai. Spends his time between Dubai and London.

2007

Receives the Raja Ravi Varma Award from the Government of Kerala. Makes a series of paintings based on the Hindi film Mughal-e-Azam.

2010

Accepts citizenship of Qatar. Paints a series of works on the Arabic civilisation for the Qatari royal family. Begins a series of paintings on the Indian civilisation for London-based Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. The series is exhibited posthumously at Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

2011

Passes away in London in exile at the age of ninety-eight and is buried in a cemetery there. His death is mourned throughout India.