Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces and Museum Quality Series | October 2004

99 THE MASTERPIECES & MUSEUM-QUALITY SERIES 66 M.F. HUSAIN [ b .1915, Pandharpur, Maharashtra] Ganesha Signed in English t.l. Acrylic on canvas, c .2000 38.5 x 48.5 cm (15.2 x 19.1 in) Rs. 800,000 – 900,000 $ 17,300 – 19,450 £ 9,475 – 10,650 ‘In the ancient epics, the gods stood for immanent energies and were always symbolically represented, imbued as they were with a universal significance. Husain, under modernism, empowered them with a symbolic presence while contextualizing them in the contemporary, thereby layering their form with multiple meanings. Henceforth, the iconic was to be assimilated into contemporary art and was to become the purveyor of everyday life with all its conflicts and unresolved dilemmas.’ – Yashodhara Dalmia, rpt. in The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives. New Delhi: OUP 2001; p114.