How the MF Husain Museum in Qatar brings the artist’s sketch to life

Clad in deep blue, featuring abstract forms, and accompanied by a tall, white, minaret-like cylindrical tower, the sketch bears his signature, the date ‘30.VIII.008’, and the title ‘M.F. Husain Art and Cinema Museum’.

Written by Vandana Kalra

Updated: October 2, 2025 11:06 AM IST

3 min read

Covering an area of 3,000 square metres, the museum will trace Husain’s artistic journey from the 1950s until his death in 2011

Three years before MF Husain passed away at the age of 95 in 2011 in London, the artist had shared an architectural vision for a building he conceptualised as being an artwork in itself. Clad in deep blue, featuring abstract forms, and accompanied by a tall, white, minaret-like cylindrical tower, the sketch bears his signature, the date ‘30.VIII.008’, and the title ‘M.F. Husain Art and Cinema Museum’.

More than 15 years later, that vision will turn into reality in the form of Lawh Wa Qalam: MF Husain Museum – an institution dedicated to the celebrated artist by the Qatar Foundation that will open on November 28 in Doha.

Covering an area of 3,000 square metres, the museum will trace Husain’s artistic journey from the 1950s until his death in 2011 through works in multiple mediums, featuring, among others, his paintings, films, tapestry, photography, poetry and installations. “It is an honour to present his work within a dedicated museum of this scale – a space where audiences can engage deeply with his life, his art, and his enduring global legacy,” said Kholoud M Al-Ali, Executive Director of Community Engagement and Programming, Qatar Foundation.

Leaving India in 2006 on a self-imposed exile – following multiple death threats and years of defending lawsuits filed against him for allegedly offending religious sentiments with his nude depictions of Hindu gods and goddesses, and his unclothed female figuration of the motherland as Bharat Mata – Husain had spent the following years between London, Doha and Dubai. In 2010, he accepted Qatar’s offer to confer him citizenship.

RN Singh, founder of Dubai-based Progressive Art Gallery, recalls the artist himself planning the Qatar museum during his lifetime. “He was really looking forward to it and had even transported works which had been in his possession in cities such as Hyderabad and Faridabad to Qatar in preparation for the museum.”

With the design of the building mirroring the sketch, Husain’s vision has been realised by Delhi-based architect Martand Khosla, who has also designed the MF Husain Art Gallery at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. Describing the project as “an incredible opportunity” to “be in conversation with the artist via the drawing that he left behind for his own museum”, Khosla said, “It has been a privilege to have engaged in this imagined architectural discourse with Husain (through our interpretation of his drawing) as a collaborator – a shift from my own Indian modernist practice.”

Discussing the curatorial vision and pointing out that the museum will feature “never-before-seen works” by the artist, Noof Mohammed, curator and project manager of Lawh Wa Qalam: MF Husain Museum, said, “This museum allows visitors to encounter Husain as he lived: with the utmost curiosity and constantly in conversation with the world around him. Our hope is that every visitor will leave having been inspired and with a deep connection to the legacy of one of the greatest artists of our time.”

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Among the highlights of the Doha museum will be his final masterpiece conceived in 2009 ‘Seeroo fi al ardh’ — an installation depicting humanity’s progress — as well as paintings inspired by the Arab civilisation from a series commissioned by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation.

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