Husain's

Instead of defending Husain's right to express his imagination, the authorities did nothing, actually adding to pressure from activists.

A Portrait of India's Intolerance Salil Tripathi 2011

"Husain's bare feet always symbolized his connection to the people of his country and kept him grounded in its ethos, even as he rose from his very humble origins to hobnob with the rich and powerful," said photographer Ram Rahman, in New York, whose parents were friends of the artist.

Famed but Controversial Painter M.F. Husain Dies Tripti Lahiri 2011

Hindu nationalists justified their attacks on Husain's art by noting that the Indian state has allowed other faiths to block literature that has offended them.

A Portrait of India's Intolerance Salil Tripathi 2011

In a May 2008 ruling in the case, a Delhi High Court judge dismissed the obscenity charges and urged Mr. Husain's opponents to look at the work through the eyes of the artist—who has said he equates nudity with purity.

Famed but Controversial Painter M.F. Husain Dies Tripti Lahiri 2011

At one point, a Hindu politician offered a bounty for chopping off Mr. Husain's hands.

Famed but Controversial Painter M.F. Husain Dies Tripti Lahiri 2011

The controversy scared those who otherwise would have been happy to exhibit his work, including the organizers of the 2008 Indian Art Fair in Delhi, which had the works of 300 artists but not Husain's.

A Portrait of India's Intolerance Salil Tripathi 2011

Left, an auctioneer took bids on Mr. Husain's painting "Woman and Horses" during a Christie's auction in Dubai, February 2007.

M.F Husain Dies 2011

Yet, the increasingly hostile reaction from some quarters in India to Mr. Husain's work, beginning in the 1990s, also made him the face of the victims of a creeping intolerance in the country.

Famed but Controversial Painter M.F. Husain Dies Tripti Lahiri 2011

Bruce Lawrence, a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University, said there are many works of Mr. Husain's yet to be seen—including from his incomplete Qatar-commissioned collection on Arab Islamic civilization, which totals 99 works.

Famed but Controversial Painter M.F. Husain Dies Tripti Lahiri 2011

When a few of them reached the Delhi High Court on appeal, it ruled in Husain's favor.

A Portrait of India's Intolerance Salil Tripathi 2011