New credit card features work of famed artist MF Husain
By Deepika Shetty, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 April 2007 1717 hrs

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SINGAPORE: His single canvases have set record prices for Indian art globally.

One of them even went under the hammer for a cool US$2m.

We are talking about the works of MF Husain - widely considered the 'Picasso of India'.

Owning a masterpiece of the famed artist is a dream for art lovers and investors.

And, bringing it a shade closer to reality is a new platinum credit card by ABN AMRO for Singapore-based local and expatriate Indians.

Getting Husain to design a credit card face is no mean feat, given the master's high demands and standards.

Suhail Chandra, ABN AMRO's Head of Consumer Clients, said: "A man like MF Husain, he's got a lot of passion, a lot of pride and he's creative. Money doesn't motivate him. We couldn't go to him and say, 'we'll pay for your painting, can you do it? We want to put it on a credit card'. So we had to go and talk to him and explain what we are doing - how we'd like to put Husain in everyone's pocket and make sure we can get people to wake up to a Husain image every time they use a card."

Channel NewsAsia's "Prime Time Morning" will explore MF Husain's art with an artist from his family - his painter son Owais Husain.

You can catch that exclusive interview on Tuesday, 1st May. - CNA/ir