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M.F. Hussain : A Legend Passes Away
M.F. Hussain India's most famous painter, died Thursday. He was 95. He died at the Royal Brompton hospital in London.
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Billboard Topper
Hussain rose from a career as movie billboard artist to become India's most sought-after painter.
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India's Piccaso
Hussain was often described as India's Picasso. The artist, whose full name was Maqbool Fida Hussain but who was known simply as M.F. Hussain, started out as a poster artist for India's prolific Bollywood film industry.
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Exiled!
Hussain had lived in self-imposed exile Dubai since 2006 after coming under attack from Hindu hard-liners in India.
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Controversial Person
He was under attack for a nude painting of a woman shaped like India's map, often depicted as Mother India in popular arts, folklore and literature. A nude of Hindu Goddess Saraswati also angered the hard-liners.
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Status Symbols
His paintings and even his simple pencil drawings became status symbols for India's wealthy elite, with his works commanding price tags running into millions of dollars.
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Shabana is Saddened
Well-known actress Shabana Azmi, a close family friend of the artist, said that she was 'deeply, deeply saddened,' to learn of Hussain's death. She described him as an 'iconoclastic painter, a wonderful human being and a very good friend.'
