Maqbool Fida Husain (1915 – 2011):

Husain was born on 17 september 1915 in Pandharpur to a Sulaymani Bohra family who trace their roots back to Gujarat within the last 200 years, and then originally to Yemen. He picked up taste in art through studying calligraphy while he stayed at a Madraasa in Baroda. Husain attended the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art in Mumbai. Early in his career Husain painted cinema posters in Mumbai. To earn extra money, he worked for a toy company designing and building toys. He often travelled to Gujarat to paint landscapes when he could afford to.


Husain developed his painting skills in the 1930s, painting billboards for the growing Bollywood film industry. This was a clique of young artists who wished to break with the nationalist traditions established by the Bengal school of art and to encourage an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level. The artists cite “The Partition” of India and Pakistan 14 August 1947, with its resulting religious rioting and heavy loss of life as their reason for forming The Progressive Artist’s Group in Bombay in December 1947. The artists saw the Partition as a “turning point” for India, and their new style of art was urged on by, and was also a turning point for, (modern) Indian Art. Husain’s first solo exhibit was in 1952 in Zurich. His first U.S.A. exhibit was at India House in New York in 1964. In 1966, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri.


In 1967, he made his first film,Through the Eyes of a Painter It was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival and won a Golden Bear short film award.


Husain was a special invitee along with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial (Brazil) in 1971. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973[ and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1991. From then he was remarked as one of the best painters of the world .he is one of the best artist in india.