Husain paintings on display in Mumbai after 6 yrs

MF Husain is all set to return to his beloved Mumbai, at least in spirit.

MF Husain is all set to return to his beloved Mumbai, at least in spirit.

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Forced into exile by right-wing radicals after he painted Hindu goddesses in the nude, the artist died in London in June, aged 95, five years after he fled the city that had been his home for 72 years.

Now, after a gap of six years, 20 works by the master artist are set to go on display at a Mumbai art gallery, amid heavy security.

“We are not displaying any of Husain’s paintings of goddesses. We don’t want to take any chances,” says Tushar Sethi, owner of the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, where the works will be showcased from December 19 to January 13, at prices ranging from Rs5 lakh to Rs2.5 crore.

All visitors to the four-week solo exhibition will be frisked and their bags checked outside the gallery by a squad of private security guards.

“Three years ago, the Tao art gallery in Worli received threat calls when they displayed a Husain work as part of a group exhibition. We know the risks,” says Sethi. “Nonetheless, Husain was

a legend. He is the reason that the average Indian has any idea what modern art is. It is time his works were shared once again.”