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Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011)Mother Teresa
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Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011)
signed and dated 4.x.97 lower right and inscribed For Nancy upper left
felt tip on paper
59.5 x 45cm (23 7/16 x 17 11/16in).
Footnotes
Provenance
Private US Collection: painted for and gifted to the vendor by the artist in 1997, Texas
First appearing as a motif in Husain's paintings in 1980, the figure of Mother Teresa recurred repeatedly in his works in the later years of his career. She is faceless, with her corporeality implied by the sari and its modelling. Gradations of the night sky permeate her hollow form while her hand is poised in the Kastarimukha mudra and a child nestles at her feet.
By absenting facial descriptions in both Mother Teresa and the child, Husain emphasises the emblematic status of both in the Indian imagination. Mother Teresa's sari maternally nestles the child, promising succour, and hope.
The present lot was painted for the vendor, who was the Executive Director of the Asia Society Centre in Houston, Texas as a thank you for hosting an exhibition of Husain's works at the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas titled 'Contemporary Narrative Painting from India: Epic Reality,' which ran from October 3–November 16, 1997.

