A museum for Husain

A new museum in Doha is all set to be the largest institution dedicated to the artist, tracing his journey from the 1950s

- Avantika Bhuyan

n 2008, while living in Doha, M.F. Husain completed a sketch of a building, resplendent in blue, with waters of the Persian Gulf visible in the background. This was his blueprint for the M.F. Husain Art & Cinema Museum-a vision which is finally coming to fruition in a country that offered him citizenship and a home during the artist's self-imposed exile from India.

Titled the Lawh Wa Qalam: M.F. Husain Museum, the 3,000 sq. m space will open on 28 November within Qatar Foundation's Education City. Hailed as the "world's first and largest institution dedicated to tracing Husain's artistic journey from the 1950s until his death", the design of the museum has been completed by Delhi-based architect Martand Khosla. He calls this an incredible opportunity, which allows him to be in conversation with the artist via the drawing that he left behind for his own museum.