Gandhi and Nehru – Art of India’s Freedom by MF Husain

In this serigraph, MF Husain places two towering figures of India’s freedom in a charged exchange of vision. On the left stands Gandhi, back turned, his lean frame draped in the simplest khadi cloth. The teal ground behind him carries the calm weight of his ideals, truth, simplicity, and non-violence. It is a colour of conscience and inner resolve, echoing Gandhi’s quiet strength to lead through moral power rather than force. His stick anchors him like a pillar, steady and grounded.

On the right, Nehru sits astride a white horse, dressed in his tailored sherwani, the orangish red ground around him vibrant and ambitious. It speaks of energy, aspiration, and the forward drive he brought to a newly independent India. The horse rears upward, capturing the dynamism of leadership and Nehru’s vision of progress.

Husain’s lines are sharp and confident, narrating more than they describe. The black lines frame Gandhi’s restraint and Nehru’s urgency, balancing conscience with momentum. The space between them, cool teal and ambitious red, creates both tension and exchange, showing that freedom was shaped by many voices and many temperaments.

The edition was created in 1997 as India completed 50 years of independence. The composition is simple yet loaded with meaning. It tells us that the story of India’s freedom was not of one path but of contrasting strengths, Gandhi’s moral clarity and Nehru’s modern momentum, both necessary and both eternal.