Dubai’s Sovereign art gallery will commemorate 100 years of the birth of legendary Indian-Qatari artist MF Husain with a unique exhibition featuring a collection of 25 rare self-portraits by Husain.

Maqbool Fida Husain (1913 - 2011), who was associated with Indian modernism since the 1940s, went on to become the most celebrated Indian artist of the 20th century. In 2010, he was awarded Qatari citizenship, and he lived in Dubai for several years before his death. Besides being a globally renowned artist (with an estimated 60,000 paintings to his credit), Husain was also a celebrated film director, print maker and photographer.

According to Dadiba Pundole, curator and gallery owner of Sovereign, although MF Husain was one of the world’s most prolific artists, his self-portraits are hard to come by and rarely seen together.

“It has taken me several years to identify and borrow this exceptional body of work from collectors around the world, and we are glad to mark Husain’ birth centenary with this ode to his extraordinary oeuvres,” Pundole said.

Several works featured at Maqbool belong to private collectors, and have never been exhibited, or seen before in public. The exhibition also showcases the vast range of mediums that MF Husain used in his work: from pencil sketches to oil paintings on canvas, and several mixed- mediums including the use of Arabic calligraphy.

“Maqbool showcases the legendary artist’s interpretation of himself - at different ages from 6 upwards, through a range of mediums, and highlighting various aspects of his life,” added Pundole.

“This is a rare opportunity for art aficionados - as well as for amateurs - to appreciate the scale, size, and splendour of Husain’s works.”

The Maqbool exhibition will run from November 22 to December 12.

Sovereign is an organic expansion of India’s famed 50-year-old Pundole Art Gallery (PAG) - in the UAE and into the Middle East. The gallery is located at The Palladium in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. – TradeArabia News Service