As the bond between Dada Abdul and Husain become even closer when Dada no longer have to work for a living, Husain had his first introduction to real horses. After picking him up from school, his grandfather would often take him to the workshop of Acchan Mian, a farrier, one who fixes iron shoes on horse hooves. As the two old men share tea in earthen cups, Husain would watch with fascination the horses that came to the shop and the way the iron shoes were fixed on their hooves. This has then became a complex motif in his paintings — a symbol of easy friendship, grace, valor, virility, freedom and more. Husain was about ten years old when Dada Abdul died. His life was shattered and found refuge in playing with lines, colours and forms. He was sent by his father to Siddhpur in Gujarat which opened the doors of Islamic history, mythology, literature and arts to Husain. By then, he picked up Gujarati and Arabic language in addition to knowing Urdu and Marathi. It was in this period where he started poetry which became his another refuge against loneliness and exposure to religious literature. Husain moved to Baroda after to continue his study. He became fluent in Persian language and his talent for drawing was quickly recognized in the school. From this time onwards, he continued sketching and painting whatever caught his fantasy, images of ordinary life which has became a part of his repertoire as an artist.

He moved back to Indore where he found, N.S. Bendre, his first guru and got admitted to the Indore School of Arts. After a short time spent here, he left without completing his diploma. He was then admitted to the J.J. School of Art in Bombay but due to his father’s loss of job because of the Great Depression, Husain could never resume his formal studies in Bombay and went back to Indore. In 1936, at the age of 19, he came back to Bombay to earn a living and determined to become an artist on his own strength without the help of an art institution. It was in the streets of Bombay that he was to gain maturity both as a person and as an artist. Except for the ability to paint, Husain had no other skills that could help him earn a living. He did only two commissioned portrait but despite his obvious talent for portraiture, he could not make a living by painting portraits as he did not yet have the social graces or the reputation to get such commissions on Bombay and had not yet acquired mastery over the oil medium, the preferred medium for making portraits. He therefore explored his other options which led him to become an assistant to Bhide who was then the most renowned cinema hoarding painter in Bombay where he worked for 5 years. This experience left a lasting impact on his growth as an artist. Husain himself recognized the significance of this experience when he said, “If I didn’t do cinema hoarding, I would have been a different man."

Husain got married to Fazila in 1941 and had their first son, Shafat, who was born within a year after their marriage. He gave up painting and cinema hoarding for a regular job as a nursery furniture designer considering the need for financial security. He also designed wooden toys which was perhaps inspired by the birth of his first daughter. These experiences with crafts and folk forms became a part of Husain’s repertoire as an artist as can be seen in some of his paintings.

Husain was invited to join the Progressive Artists Group in 1947 by F.N. Souza after his first public exhibition of paintings. Most recently, his work has been featured in solo shows including ‘M.F. Husain: Early Masterpieces 1950s-1970s at Providence in 2010; ‘Epic India’ at the peabody Essex Museum, Salem, in 2006-07; and ‘Early Masterpieces 1950-70s, London, in 2006. Husain was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, India’s Upper House of Parliament in 1986-92, during which he pictorially recorded its events, which were then published in 1994. The Government of India awarded him with a Padma Shri in 1966, a Padma Bhushan in 1973 and Padma Vibhushan in 1991, all high civilian honours. In 1971, Husain was invited to exhibit as a special invitee with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil. In 2004, he was awarded the Lalit Kala Ratna by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Husian passed away in London in 2011.