MF Husain's Voices sets new benchmark for artist; sold at Rs 18.5 cr

The surprise, is not that it took so long to get to this point, but that Voices has established a benchmark at a time of severe financial distress

When M F Husain’s painting,Voices, sold for Rs 18.5 crore on Sunday night, the surprise was not that it set a new benchmark for the artist but that it took so long to get here. Husain, a founding member of the Progressive Artists’ Group, had created a monopoly around his work from the 1950s till the time of his death in 2011. For seven decades, he was the face of modern Indian art. Everyone wanted a painting by Husain – they still do. AstaGuru’s decision to conduct an auction consisting solely of Husain’s work might have seemed a tad foolhardy given the current circumstances, but the Rs 55 crore sale more than justified that optimism.

Husain joined the Progressives in 1947, but soon after, its members left Bombay (as it was then known): S H Raza settled in Paris, F N Souza and S K Bakre moved to London, H A Gade shifted to New Delhi to teach, leaving only Husain and K H Ara to wield the baton of modernism. The earlier generation of artists were on the wane, and others such as Tyeb Mehta and V S Gaitonde were yet to become known. Husain seized the opportunity, becoming the darling of the glitterati, even as he wooed the general public. His art was not about some lofty ideals. He painted the subaltern working class that had hitherto been ignored – farmers, musicians, potters, dancers. 

MF Husain

He was at his peak during the 1950s and ’60s, even though the subjects he became known for – for instance, his paintings of horses, of the epics The Mahabharata and The Ramayana, of Mother Teresa, and, later, of Madhuri Dixit – would follow later. At this point, he was more concerned with the idea of India and its enduring civilization, as reflected in his iconic Zameen – a career-defining mural-style painting that is in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. 

Husain and Jehangir Nicholson

Voices, the largest work he painted in the 1950s, easily fits into this style. Unlike Zameen, he eschews recognisable forms in this painting, though there are his characteristic brushstrokes and outlines, a feature that earned him the moniker of a primitivist painter. The subdued palette too is characteristic of this period; his later paintings became brighter and more ambitious. A work of museum quality, Voices has likely been acquired by a collector outside the country. 

It was also in the 1950s, after returning from a visit to Egypt, that Husain painted Between the Spider and the Lamp, considered among his seminal works and highly valued in the market. On Sunday, an A4 sheet-sized preparatory drawing of the painting sold for Rs 83.5 lakh, no doubt on account of what is being described as its “historicity”. 

Husain, along with Souza, are both ranked among the most prolific Indian artists, and continue to command extremely high values despite the easy availability of their works. The Fifties and Sixties, though, were important for both artists in which they commanded fame and created their best work. Souza’s prices over the last decade have been consistently higher than Husain’s, even though Husain probably outranks Souza or any other artist in the total number of works sold through auction. 

One reason why Husain was a laggard behind Souza, Gaitonde and Raza in vying for the top spot was his competitiveness in his lifetime, which led to his inflating his own prices while publicly “organising” the sale of his then current works. This won him headlines as well as notoriety, but sometimes at the cost of quality. The controversy over obscenity and nude goddesses that dogged his last years too proved detrimental to his prices – collectors still wanted his works but were less willing to be acknowledged bidding for it openly. 

There is little doubt that as more works from his early career find their way into the market, he will command it like a master. A solo-artist auction such as this also gives the market confidence. The surprise, therefore, is not that it took so long to get to this point, but that Voices has established a benchmark at a time of severe financial distress. 

Eye on Gaitonde

Japanese collector Masanori Fukuoka began collecting art in 1990 and opened the Glenbarra Art Museum in Japan in 1991, providing a huge fillip to modern Indian art, of which he was a patron. Occasional works from his collection have since been sold at auctions, but now an entire auction of works from the Glenbarra Art Museum will feature over two sessions at Pundole’s on September 3 and 4, respectively. Lots include Fukuoka’s favourite artists: M F Husain, Tyeb Mehta, F N Souza, Ram Kumar, Krishen Khanna, J Swaminathan, Jogen Chowdhury, Akbar Padamsee, with top billing for a painting by V S Gaitonde estimated between Rs 15 and Rs 25 crore.

Gaitonde is the cover lot for Saffronart’s live auction on September 17 with an even higher estimate of Rs 25-35 crore. The current record for Indian art is held by the artist at Rs 29.3 crore. Saffronart’s cart includes several artists common to Pundole’s, but also Manjit Bawa, Amrita Sher-Gil, S H Raza, Jehangir Sabavala as well as a few contemporaries. Expectedly, Husain and Souza outrank all other artists in volume.

If Gaitonde does better his own record, thereby setting a new benchmark for Indian art, investors will need to re-evaluate art as an asset class in their books.