M.F. Husain’s 1952 artwork sells for ₹65 crore, becomes his second-highest priced work

M.F. Husain’s 1952 painting The Red Girl has been sold for ₹65 crore at Pundole’s Fine Art Sale in Mumbai. The sale makes it the second-highest priced work by Husain sold anywhere in the world and a domestic auction record.

The oil-on-canvas painting was estimated at ₹3-5 crore but sold for nearly 13 times its upper estimate. It was the most expensive work among the 81 lots offered at the auction held at Hamilton House in Mumbai.

The Red Girl measures 48 x 23 7/8 inches and was painted by Husain in 1952, an important period in his early career.

The painting shows a woman in a deep red colour. She wears an ornamental belt around her waist and a traditional ornament on her forehead. The figure is inspired by ancient Indian sculpture, particularly the yakshi figures associated with the Mathura tradition.

Husain has given the figure a simple and almost rigid form. The lower part of the body appears fragmented, resembling the broken forms of old sculptures. The painting combines elements from India's artistic past with the modern style Husain was developing at the time.

Don't Miss: Nobel Prize in Medicine 2026 goes to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for optogenetics

A key period in Husain’s career

The year 1952 was important for Husain. He was among the artists who helped shape modern Indian art in the years after Independence.

 

 

Watch the post here:

 

Husain was associated with the Progressive Artists’ Group, which was formed in Bombay in 1947 by artists including F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza and K.H. Ara. The group wanted Indian artists to move beyond the art styles that had dominated during the colonial period and find new ways of expressing Indian subjects.

Husain’s work often drew from Indian traditions, mythology, folk art and sculpture, while using a modern style. The Red Girl is an example of this approach.

Around the same time, Husain was also beginning to gain recognition outside India. In 1952, he travelled to China as part of an Indian delegation to the Asia-Pacific Peace Conference. He also held his first solo exhibition abroad in Zurich that year.

Husain later travelled across Europe and saw the works of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee and Henri Matisse. These experiences further shaped his artistic language.

From Zameen to Mother Teresa, Husain’s iconic works

Over his long career, Husain painted some of the most recognisable works of modern Indian art. His subjects ranged from Indian epics and mythology to political figures, ordinary people and religious themes.

His 1954 painting Zameen is one of his important early works. The painting reflects the India Husain saw around him and is known for its strong colours and simplified forms. Another well-known work from this period is Between the Spider and the Lamp, painted in 1956.

Husain later turned to the Mahabharata and created a major series based on the epic. One of the best-known works from this series is Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12, painted in 1971-72. The large diptych was part of a series of 27 paintings Husain created for the São Paulo Biennial. It was later exhibited in Paris, Moscow and Oxford.

His paintings of Mother Teresa also became an important part of his work. He first exhibited a series on Mother Teresa in Calcutta in 1980. He returned to the subject in different forms and mediums over the years.

Another major work was Lightning, a huge 12-panel painting created in 1975. The work was made for an election rally of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Congress Party in Bombay. The 60-foot-wide work later became part of exhibitions examining Husain’s art and his relationship with Indian politics.

Husain was also closely associated with horses, one of the most recognisable subjects in his work. His bold horse paintings became a recurring theme throughout his career and are now among his most recognisable images.

In recent years, another of his landmark works, Gram Yatra, has drawn major attention. The large painting sold for about ₹115 crore in New York, making it the most expensive Indian painting sold at auction at the time. The work depicts rural India and was painted on a large scale.

The painting’s history

The Red Girl has a history going back to the early years of Indian modern art. The work was discussed in published material soon after it was painted, including the book Paintings of Husain by Peerbhoy.

The painting was also associated with Emanuel Schlesinger, an Austrian émigré and art patron in Bombay. Schlesinger was among the collectors who supported Indian artists during the early development of modern Indian art.

More than seven decades after Husain painted it, The Red Girl has now returned to the spotlight with its ₹65-crore sale.

The price reflects both the demand for Husain’s early works and his lasting position in Indian modern art. From his early paintings of India to his works on the Mahabharata, Mother Teresa, horses and political themes, Husain built a body of work that took Indian subjects to audiences around the world.