FROM CLASSICAL TO CONTEMPORARY (6-7 DECEMBER 2017)

PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN, SINGAPORE

M F HUSAIN

(1913 ‒ 2011)

When I begin to paint hold the sky in your hand as the

stretch of my canvas is unknown to me

Signed 'Husain' (upper right); signed and dated 'Husain 82'

and signed again in Devnagari (on the reverse)

1982

Oil on canvas

32.5 x 26.5 in (82.6 x 67.3 cm)

$ 90,000 ‒ 120,000

Rs 57,60,000 ‒ 76,80,000

PROVENANCE:

Saffronart, 6‒12 December 2001, lot 47

Saffronart, 6‒7 June 2007, lot 3

usain’s paintings of women recall the beauty and classical poses

seen in Mathura sculpture. He often introduced symbols such

as lamps, spokes, umbrellas, elephants and horses, which defied

simple interpretations. These juxtapositions incorporated mythology and

storytelling, and sometimes tapped into “the deeper, inchoate reaches

of emotion.” (Richard Bartholomew and Shiv S Kapur,

Husain

, New York:

Harry N Abrams, Inc., 1971, p. 36) In the present lot, a woman is seated with

her face turned away from a caged parrot. This pose is also seen in paintings

such as

Woman with Elephant

, where the inclusion of symbols adds a layer

of ambiguity. Confident black lines demarcate the woman, the bird, and the

cage. In this seemingly simple composition, the focus is on the enigmatic

dialogue between the lively parrot and the woman whose face reflects her

lack of desire to hear what the bird has to say.

Untitled (Woman with Elephant)

Saffronart, New Delhi, 21

September 2017, lot 11

Sold for INR 78 lakhs ($123,810)

Untitled

, 2005

Saffronart, 18‒19 June 2014, lot 78

Sold for INR 46 lakhs ($78,000)