Renowned artist MF Husain, whose paintings made waves and stirred controversies across the globe, passed away in a London hospital on Thursday.
According to reports, the artist, who was 95, died of a heart attack. He breathed his last in Royal Brompton hospital.
Husain was in a self-imposed exile since 2006 after his paintings of some Hindu deities led to life threats.
He was, without any doubt, one of the most celebrated painters in the world, and his paintings put India on the world map.
Husain first became well-known as an artist in the late 1940s.
In 1947, he joined the Progressive Artists’ Group, founded by Francis Newton Souza. This was a group of young artists who wished to break with the nationalist traditions established by the Bengal school of art and to encourage an Indian avant-garde, engaged at an international level.
In 1952, his first solo exhibition was held at Zürich and over the next few years, his work was widely seen in Europe and the US.
In 1955, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shree prize by the Government of India.
According to Forbes magazine, he has been called the “Picasso of India”.