lightningbymfh

A Monumental Masterpiece by M.F. Husain

OneofthemostcelebratedandwidelyrecognizedmasterpiecesbythelegendaryIndian-QatariartistMaqboolFidaHusain.Createdin1975,themonumental60-footmuralwascommissionedtoserveasapowerfulvisualbackdropforahistoricaddressbythenPrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi,duringapivotalmomentinIndia’shistory.

A Monumental Masterpiece by M.F. Husain

OneofthemostcelebratedandwidelyrecognizedmasterpiecesbythelegendaryIndian-QatariartistMaqboolFidaHusain.Createdin1975,themonumental60-footmuralwascommissionedtoserveasapowerfulvisualbackdropforahistoricaddressbythenPrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi,duringapivotalmomentinIndia’shistory.

Title

Lightning

Year

1975

Medium

Acrylic on canvas

Size

10 ft x 60 ft

120 in x 720 in / 305 cm x 1829 cm

The Story

Behind the masterpiece

A Creation Born in a Time of Upheaval

In the mid-1970s, as India stood at the crossroads of political and cultural change, Husain envisioned an artwork that could capture the tension and momentum of the era.

The result was Lightning — a sweeping, twelve-panel mural often referred to as the “Guernica of India.”

Husain kept the work in his personal collection from 1975 until 2002, underscoring its profound personal significance.

Today, Lightning resides in the collection of a private collector, where it remains one of the most important works of Husain’s legacy.

About

The ArtWork

A Symphony of Motion, Myth, and Modernity

The twelve monumental panels of Lightning, vivid in color and sculpted through a Cubist visual language, reveal an unforgettable central image:

wild white horses charging across a vast, symbolic landscape.

Through these horses — one of Husain’s most enduring and iconic motifs — the mural captures:

the restless energy of the 1970s,

the political climate of a rapidly evolving young nation, and
the unstoppable momentum of social change.

Every stroke displays Husain’s ability to merge modernist methodologies with cultural memory, making Lightning not just a painting, but a visual chronicle of a nation in motion.

Global Recognition

In 2019, the Asia Society Museum, New York, presented a rare solo exhibition devoted exclusively to Lightning, accompanied by a dedicated scholarly catalogue.

The exhibition introduced a new generation of collectors, critics, and art historians to the scale, ambition, and emotional power of Husain’s mural — earning widespread international acclaim.

The Artist

M F husain

M.F. Husain (1915–2011) is regarded as one of the most influential artists of modern India. A founding member of the Progressive Artists’ Group, he was instrumental in redefining Indian visual culture in the decades following independence.

Holds record-breaking auction prices among Indian artists

Special invitee alongside Pablo Picasso at the 1971 São Paulo Biennial

Renowned for his modernist reinterpretations of mythological, cultural, and historical themes

Described by The New York Times (2011) as India’s most famous painter, whose work fused European modernism with Indian epics

Global

IMPACT &

Collections

Celebrated Across Leading Art Institutions

Husain’s works have been collected and exhibited by major institutions worldwide, including:

The Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Peabody Essex Museum
Leading museums and galleries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East

A Legacy That Lives On

Today, Husain’s works continue to anchor major exhibitions across the globe, reaffirming his status as a visionary who reshaped the language of modern art.

Lightning, with its unparalleled scale, symbolic force, and expressive power, remains one of the most significant testaments to his creative genius.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator

Title

Lightning

Year

1975

Medium

Acrylic on canvas

Size

10 ft x 60 ft

120 in x 720 in / 305 cm x 1829 cm

The Story

Behind the masterpiece

A Creation Born in a Time of Upheaval

In the mid-1970s, as India stood at the crossroads of political and cultural change, Husain envisioned an artwork that could capture the tension and momentum of the era.

The result was Lightning — a sweeping, twelve-panel mural often referred to as the “Guernica of India.”

Husain kept the work in his personal collection from 1975 until 2002, underscoring its profound personal significance.

Today, Lightning resides in the collection of a private collector, where it remains one of the most important works of Husain’s legacy.

About

The ArtWork

A Symphony of Motion, Myth, and Modernity

The twelve monumental panels of Lightning, vivid in color and sculpted through a Cubist visual language, reveal an unforgettable central image:

wild white horses charging across a vast, symbolic landscape.

Through these horses — one of Husain’s most enduring and iconic motifs — the mural captures:

the restless energy of the 1970s,

the political climate of a rapidly evolving young nation, and
the unstoppable momentum of social change.

Every stroke displays Husain’s ability to merge modernist methodologies with cultural memory, making Lightning not just a painting, but a visual chronicle of a nation in motion.

Global Recognition

In 2019, the Asia Society Museum, New York, presented a rare solo exhibition devoted exclusively to Lightning, accompanied by a dedicated scholarly catalogue.

The exhibition introduced a new generation of collectors, critics, and art historians to the scale, ambition, and emotional power of Husain’s mural — earning widespread international acclaim.

The Artist

M F husain

Holds record-breaking auction prices among Indian artists

Special invitee alongside Pablo Picasso at the 1971 São Paulo Biennial

Renowned for his modernist reinterpretations of mythological, cultural, and historical themes

Described by The New York Times (2011) as India’s most famous painter, whose work fused European modernism with Indian epics

Global

IMPACT &

Collections

Celebrated Across Leading Art Institutions

Husain’s works have been collected and exhibited by major institutions worldwide, including:

The Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Peabody Essex Museum
Leading museums and galleries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East

A Legacy That Lives On

Today, Husain’s works continue to anchor major exhibitions across the globe, reaffirming his status as a visionary who reshaped the language of modern art.

Lightning, with its unparalleled scale, symbolic force, and expressive power, remains one of the most significant testaments to his creative genius.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator

Title

Lightning

Year

1975

Medium

Acrylic on canvas

Size

10 ft x 60 ft

120 in x 720 in / 305 cm x 1829 cm

The Story

Behind the masterpiece

A Creation Born in a Time of Upheaval

In the mid-1970s, as India stood at the crossroads of political and cultural change, Husain envisioned an artwork that could capture the tension and momentum of the era.

The result was Lightning — a sweeping, twelve-panel mural often referred to as the “Guernica of India.”

Husain kept the work in his personal collection from 1975 until 2002, underscoring its profound personal significance.

Today, Lightning resides in the collection of a private collector, where it remains one of the most important works of Husain’s legacy.

About

The ArtWork

A Symphony of Motion, Myth, and Modernity

The twelve monumental panels of Lightning, vivid in color and sculpted through a Cubist visual language, reveal an unforgettable central image:

wild white horses charging across a vast, symbolic landscape.

Through these horses — one of Husain’s most enduring and iconic motifs — the mural captures:

the restless energy of the 1970s,

the political climate of a rapidly evolving young nation, and
the unstoppable momentum of social change.

Every stroke displays Husain’s ability to merge modernist methodologies with cultural memory, making Lightning not just a painting, but a visual chronicle of a nation in motion.

Global Recognition

In 2019, the Asia Society Museum, New York, presented a rare solo exhibition devoted exclusively to Lightning, accompanied by a dedicated scholarly catalogue.

The exhibition introduced a new generation of collectors, critics, and art historians to the scale, ambition, and emotional power of Husain’s mural — earning widespread international acclaim.

The Artist

M F husain

Holds record-breaking auction prices among Indian artists

Special invitee alongside Pablo Picasso at the 1971 São Paulo Biennial

Renowned for his modernist reinterpretations of mythological, cultural, and historical themes

Described by The New York Times (2011) as India’s most famous painter, whose work fused European modernism with Indian epics

Global

IMPACT &

Collections

Celebrated Across Leading Art Institutions

Husain’s works have been collected and exhibited by major institutions worldwide, including:

The Victoria & Albert Museum, London
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Peabody Essex Museum
Leading museums and galleries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East

A Legacy That Lives On

Today, Husain’s works continue to anchor major exhibitions across the globe, reaffirming his status as a visionary who reshaped the language of modern art.

Lightning, with its unparalleled scale, symbolic force, and expressive power, remains one of the most significant testaments to his creative genius.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator
Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.
Susan Bean
Former senior curator of Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, MA
Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.
Daniel Herwitz
Professor of Comp Lit, Hist of Art, Philosophy and Art & Design
It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.
Gayatri Sinha
Art critic and curator

LIGHTNING

LIGHTNING

LIGHTNING

OneofthemostcelebratedandwidelyrecognizedmasterpiecesbythelegendaryIndian-QatariartistMaqboolFidaHusain.Createdin1975,themonumental60-footmuralwascommissionedtoserveasapowerfulvisualbackdropforahistoricaddressbythenPrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi,duringapivotalmomentinIndia’shistory.

OneofthemostcelebratedandwidelyrecognizedmasterpiecesbythelegendaryIndian-QatariartistMaqboolFidaHusain.Createdin1975,themonumental60-footmuralwascommissionedtoserveasapowerfulvisualbackdropforahistoricaddressbythenPrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi,duringapivotalmomentinIndia’shistory.

LIGHTNING

LIGHTNING

OneofthemostcelebratedandwidelyrecognizedmasterpiecesbythelegendaryIndian-QatariartistMaqboolFidaHusain.Createdin1975,themonumental60-footmuralwascommissionedtoserveasapowerfulvisualbackdropforahistoricaddressbythenPrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi,duringapivotalmomentinIndia’shistory.

OneofthemostcelebratedandwidelyrecognizedmasterpiecesbythelegendaryIndian-QatariartistMaqboolFidaHusain.Createdin1975,themonumental60-footmuralwascommissionedtoserveasapowerfulvisualbackdropforahistoricaddressbythenPrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi,duringapivotalmomentinIndia’shistory.

The Story

The Story

Behind the masterpiece

Behind the masterpiece

About

About

The ArtWork

The ArtWork

wild white horses charging across a vast, symbolic landscape.

Global Recognition

The Artist

The Artist

M F husain

M F husain

Holds record-breaking auction prices among Indian artists

Special invitee alongside Pablo Picasso at the 1971 São Paulo Biennial

Renowned for his modernist reinterpretations of mythological, cultural, and historical themes

Described by The New York Times (2011) as India’s most famous painter, whose work fused European modernism with Indian epics

Global

Global

IMPACT &

IMPACT &

Collections

Collections

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

The Story

Behind the masterpiece

About

The ArtWork

wild white horses charging across a vast, symbolic landscape.

Global Recognition

The Artist

M F husain

Holds record-breaking auction prices among Indian artists

Special invitee alongside Pablo Picasso at the 1971 São Paulo Biennial

Renowned for his modernist reinterpretations of mythological, cultural, and historical themes

Described by The New York Times (2011) as India’s most famous painter, whose work fused European modernism with Indian epics

Global

IMPACT &

Collections

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

Inspired by Xu Beihong, Husain infused his houses with a new vigor, an enlivened energy of movement combining dragon-like elements of masculinity with feminine grace.

Where there is lightning there is thunder, thunder of horses, and Husain’s horses early became his icon. For they were beings always catapulted into action, being whose every response was dynamic, whose power was that of fateness into motion.

It is only in exceptional cases in modern art history that the artist’s body and the body of his art become inseparable.

The Story

Behind the masterpiece

About

The ArtWork

wild white horses charging across a vast, symbolic landscape.

Global Recognition

The Artist

M F husain