Husain’s Girl

Long before Mother Teresa, before Madhuri Dixit, even before the horses, there was MF Husain’s Tribal Girl.

Long before Mother Teresa, before Madhuri Dixit, even before the horses, there was the Tribal Girl. This painting by MF Husain was part of one of the earliest shows of the master’s works; a piece from half a decade before he became India-born Qatari National MF Husain. The painting, signed ‘Husain 50’, is part of Sotheby’s India and Southeast Asian Art auction in New York on 24 March. Several lots in the March auction, including Tribal Girl, are from the collection of Emmanuel ‘Schle’ Schlesinger, an Indian art patron who lived in 1940s’ Bombay. He was a great supporter of the Progressive Artists Group, especially Husain. One story says that when Husain considered moving to Europe like several other Progressive artists, it was Shclesinger who convinced him to stay back in the country that inspired his art.

artMF Husainpainting