ONE OF INDIA’S greatest modern painters was Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011), who was born in what is now Maharahtra. He studied art at the Sir JJ School of Art in Bombay.

 

While visiting Bombay’s branch of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) on 2 January 2026, we saw two of Husain’s drawings and two of his paintings.  They had been hinges next to a portrait of the artist by Anil Naik  (born 1959), a graduate of Sir JJ School School of Art.

 

From the NGMA,  we made our way to the huge Bombay headquarters of the LIC insurance company.  My wife had read that this place is home to a painting by MF Husain. Nobody in the building knew about it despite the fact that the painting occupies most of one wall of the foyer of one wing of the building.

 

Husain’s painting at LIC is in need of some conservation work. The lower part of it is hidden from view because an x-ray machine used to check bags etc has been placed against it. It was painted in 1963 and depicts Indian life and culture.

 

It is to be hoped that thus fine mural will neither be allowe to fade away nor destroyed.