Page 18 - M F Husain The Eternal Master
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Left to right: Ram Kumar, M F Husain, Tyeb & Sakina Mehta, 1980s
in the narrative of Indian Modernism. It was during this
pivotal year that Husain made a courageous decision to
forgo his secure job at Fantasy Furniture store. With a
growing family and no assured income, this move was a leap
of faith grounded in the belief that he was destined for a Husain with India’s former President APJ Abdul Kalam
different path. Husain intuitively understood that embracing
another career in furniture design would end his dreams of
becoming a celebrated artist. This move was followed by his
submission of three works at the 1947 Bombay Art Society transformed into an informal salon for budding local artists.
(BAS) exhibition, where one of his paintings titled ‘Sunehra Rudy Von Leyden, who arrived in Bombay around the same
Sansar’ won an award. This crucial time for Husain was, in time under similar circumstances, played a critical role as
fact, serendipitous for Indian Modernism. the art critic for an iconic daily newspaper. His relentless
The stage was set for a remarkable fusion of Indian dedication to discovering and promoting Indian artists
talent and European mentorship. Leading the BAS was during the 1940s and 1950s was nothing short of monumental.
Walter Langhammer, an Austrian teacher and cartoonist Amid this vibrant landscape of artistic evolution stood
who, along with his wife, had escaped from the horrors of Francis Newton Souza, an Indian whose audacious vision
Nazi persecution in India. Initially appointed as the Art would reshape the contours of modern Indian art through
Husain in his element Director of The Times of India, Langhammer’s home quickly founding the revolutionary Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG)
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