Why India Inc loves a Husain in boardroom

BANGALORE: Having a Husain on the wall was the preferred way for Corporate India to exhibit its aesthetic sensibilities. In Bangalore, at the old UB headquarters, you were greeted by a triptych of the ubiquitous horse. Most corporates who bought a Husain went on to develop a personal rapport with the artiste.

Capt Gopinath recalls his one impulsive purchase that happened to be a Husain. “I bought two untitled lithographs at an art gallery a few years ago. I’m neither a collector nor an art critic. I pick up the paintings I like. There is something very distinct about his works. He has a very strong colour sense, and strokes hard to imitate,” Gopinath adds.

In the art circles, Husain created ripples with his works on horses and women. Besides, his serigraphs are very popular with art lovers. “I’ve 3-4 serigraphs related to Sikhism. It’s very dear to me because he has signed on those prints,” said Munish Jauhar, CEO of Chandigarh-based Gray Cell Technologies Exports.

He recalls Husain visiting Chandigarh for a charity exhibition in 2003. Husain was no stranger to the Jauhar household. “He used to sit in my father’s photo studio and draw sketches in the 1970s. I still have his famous elephant sketch adorning my living room,” he says.

Husain was one of the very few from Progressive Artists’ Group who stayed back in the country for art’s sake. “As a result, he was very popular and many Parsi industrialists in Mumbai collected his paintings. The Tatas, Parmeshwar Godrej, Surinder Kapur of Sona Koyo and ITC were some of his major patrons,” said Kishore Singh, head (exhibition), Delhi Art Gallery.

“Although Husain’s demise closes one chapter in Indian art, we hope to see an Indian artist take up his legacy and come forward with art worth talking about,” said Anuja Lath, co-founder and CEO, IndianArtCollectors .com.