M.F. Husain, Untitled (After “Gandhi”) (Panels 1-3), c. 1983
Acrylic on Canvas, 6 panels, 90h x 32w in. each
Please join us for a unique farewell party, where we bid goodbye to a remarkable work of art.
In 1982, Sir Richard Attenborough’s magnum opus, the biopic Gandhi, took the cinematic world by storm, winning a record number of Oscars, and enthralling Maqbool Fida Husain. Husain was a cinephile all his life, perhaps due to his earliest experiences as a cinema billboard painter, and Gandhi was a longtime muse of Husain. When the two threads of cinema and Gandhi came together in Attenborough’s movie, Husain was inspired to pay homage, in the form of the monumental painting Untitled (After “Gandhi”), also known as The Attenborough Panels.
This work, which was previously exhibited by Aicon Contemporary in 2020, has recently been acquired from the gallery by a prominent South Asian art museum and will be joining their permanent collection.
To commemorate the momentous occasion of this acquisition as well as to honor the legacy of this work of art, Aicon Contemporary will be hosting a reception with the work on display one final time in New York, which will be open to the public. This celebration will be held on November 1st from 6 - 8pm at the gallery, 35 Great Jones St, New York, NY 10012.
M.F. Husain, Untitled (After “Gandhi”) (Panels 4-6), c. 1983
Acrylic on Canvas, 6 panels, 90h x 32w in. each
The event will host some exciting programming for attending guests. Hugo Weihe, former head of Indian and Islamic Art at Christie's, will speak at the reception in conversation with Projjal Dutta, owner of Aicon Contemporary. We will also be exhibiting—for the second time ever—an incredible 17 foot long work by M.F. Husain from 1983, entitled From the Valley of Kashmir to the Valley of Caracas.
Untitled (After “Gandhi”) remained relatively unknown despite its size and artistic mastery. The piece, however, is exemplary of Husain’s incredible craft, and an important milestone in his journey. It represents the meshing of Husain’s biggest inspirations on a massive scale.
In all the panels, the figure of Gandhi is alone. Other than two farm animals, there are no other living beings in the entire painting. This solitude, along with artistic license on musculature and proportions, characterizes Gandhi as a tragic hero. With his feet never resting on the ground, he seems to be in this world, but is not of this world–a divine being.
As Albert Einstein famously said about Gandhi, “Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” This quote, which opens Attenborough’s film, similarly reflects the divinity in the masterpiece by M. F. Husain.
Aicon Contemporary looks forward to exhibiting this piece one last time before it departs to its new home. Please join us in honoring the legacy of both this work, and of M.F. Husain himself.