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"These paintings might be best known to art historians, but this represents their first ever public viewing," says Hugo Weihe, CEO of Saffronart, of the works, which Husain produced in the early 2000s and which were part of his uncompleted 100-piece series An Artist's Vision of the XX Century. The series was the artist's take on major events and social changes of the 20th century, painted in his bold signature acrylics.
From Ambition to Oblivion: A Billion-Rupee Deal
In 2004, Husain had sold the first 25 paintings to Srivastava, while the remaining he was to complete and deliver over time. The transaction was big news, and Srivastava became a widely known figure around the art world. But five years later in 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started an inquiry into Srivastava's finances, claiming he had misused government-backed loans meant for agriculture.
The charges incorporated the siphoning of money to real estate, mutual funds, and the Husain paintings. Even though Srivastava never faced any charges, a panel of arbitrators ordered his assets — including the paintings — to be confiscated in 2008. The auction was delayed by legal issues until this year, when a court finally allowed the works to be sold to recoup the defaulted loans.
Art Rediscovered: Husain's Vision of the 20th Century
The paintings are a repercussive, high-strung commentary on the 20th century. One has a symbolic group of persons sitting on a bench – it reflects Husain's invocation for Global Dialogue and Peace. Another counterposes Charlie Chaplin with a rocket launch to illustrate the contradictions between economic inequality and technological achievement.
Several do so at the level of war and displacement, resilience and victimhood — soldiers and refugees, wars including World War II, the Holocaust, the Partition of India. The two of them underscore Husain's unparalleled ability to combine political acuity with artistic verve.
The auction follows close on the heels of the sale of another Husain painting, Untitled (Gram Yatra), which commanded $13.8 million at Christie's in New York, also creating a record in Indian art.
