Maqbool Fida Husain

Acquired in New York circa 1970s 

Thence by descent 

'There is a phase of Husain's paintings around 1958 in which he deals for the first time with the question of individual identity. It is also at this time that he began painting portraits of individuals he knew and loved. The predominant images at this time have neither the dress nor the locale, nor the obvious characteristics of a traditional Indian figure. Evidently, he disengages the question of individual identity from that of the cultural identity of an Indian. It is interesting that the subjects of these portraits are usually the members of the bourgeoisie.'

(G. Kapur, 'Maqbool Fida Husain,' Contemporary Indian Artists, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1978, p. 124)

Painted in 1964, the current lot is one such example of Maqbool Fida Husain's portraits of known figures. Joining individuals such as India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, here, Husain depicts the famed writer, journalist and memoirist Ved Mehta (1934-2021).

Born in Lahore, Mehta later settled in New York and is most acclaimed for his monumental autobiography, Continents of Exile (1972-2004). He wrote more than 20 other books - including Face to Face: An Autobiography (1957), Delinquent Chacha (1966), Portrait of India (1970), Mahatma Gandhi and His Apostles (1977) - and was a writer for The New Yorker for more than three decades. After his death in 2021, The New York Times noted he was ‘widely considered the 20th-century writer most responsible for introducing American readers to India.’ (M. Fox, 'Ved Mehta, Writer Who Illuminated India, Is Dead at 86', The New York Times, 10 January 2021) The present work, an expressive portrait of Mehta, captures the gravitas of this literary stalwart, a fitting tribute by India's most famous 20th-century painter.