HUSAIN’S LAST SIGNATURE

The MF Husain museum in Doha has just opened its doors to the public—a fitting finale for an artist who planned for his legacy. Delhiite and art writer Sahar Zaman, a friend of Husain, writes about the opening, the museum's magnificent artworks made in the artist's final years as well as diverse works made during his lifetime in India.

- Sahar Zaman, author and curator

025 will be remembered as the year when Husain made the biggest comeback in the world of art. In March, he became the most expensive Indian artist ever with a record-breaking auction of his work ‘Gram Yatra’ (1954) for =118 crores. The MF Husain museum opened to the public in Doha, his adopted home, last week—it’s a fitting finale for an artist who planned for his legacy beyond his life.

Spread across 3,000 square metres, the Lawh Wa Qalam museum established by the Qatar Foundation in Education City, Doha, features the artist’s final works created in Qatar, including the ‘Arab Civilization’ series. Personal objects and diverse works across genres and media that were made during his lifetime in India, prominently find a home in its galleries.

The opening night gala started with a grand video show that played across the huge facade of the museum building. Qatari royalty, global collectors Lakshmi Mittal, Gauri Khan, Radhikaraje Gaekwad of Baroda, Indian artists Subodh Gupta and Riyas Komu along with other admirers, watched in awe as Husain’s paintings — his birds flying across the Mumbai sky, his Kathakali dancers teasing you with their eyes, his horses in full gallop and his camels — moved across the facade in animated glory.