SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
In 1935, Maqbool Fida Husain went to Bombay and enrolled at the Sir J. J. School of Art; he began by painting film sets. In 1971, he was invited as a special guest to the São Paulo Biennial, alongside Pablo Picasso, according to a sale notice. The Indian Parliament also appointed him to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament. The notice reports that he explained his departure from the country by citing the complexity of his legal situation and the advice he had been given to leave.
In Flamingos, the sale commentary describes a composition depicting a colony of flamingos and interprets the inscription as an Urdu quotation by the poet Muhammad Iqbal. The lithograph Sunderi is listed in the collections of the Luxembourg Archaeological Institute, at the Gaspar Museum in Arlon.
Husain also extended his work into cinema: his film Through the Eyes of a Painter received the Golden Bear for Best Short Film in 1967. He also directed and produced Gaja Gamini and Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities.
This profile brings together identity references for M. F. Husain and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
4 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky, Piguet. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Ink on paper
Untitled (horses).
Tusche auf Papier
Catalogue period : 2022-05-06
Published result : 4200 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 3800
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Acrylic on canvas
Flamingos.
Acryl auf Lwd.
Date to be documented
Published result : 45000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 65000
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Oil on coarse canvas
Sitzender Buddha.
Öl auf grober Lwd
Date to be documented
Published result : 19000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 7500
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Oil on panel
Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011), \\Eléphant dans la
huile sur panneau
Catalogue period : 2011-10-05
Published result : 70000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 20000–30000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
