MUMBAI: Painter M.F. Husain quashed rumours of his breakup with the self-proclaimed connoisseur of art, Mr Swarup Srivastava, who has commissioned 100 paintings from Mr Husain for Rs one billion.

Mr Husain, who is currently in Europe, said, “Not at all. We are going ahead,” when asked about the excitement in Delhi and Mumbai of the supposed breakup. It has sent ripples through the chatterati of the art world.

Mr Husain is in Europe on his way to New York where his paintings will be among those to be auctioned by Christie’s on March 31. Mr Husain said, “By September, all the 100 paintings will be ready.”

Trying to understand why such rumours are being spread, he said, “when people think I am in business with Mr Srivastava I tell them that I am not involved in business with him. It is not a business partnership. He is very clear in his aim which is to make money by selling my paintings. And I sell my paintings to him. He wants to take Indian contemporary art global. He is not in the art line so I also advise him.”

“People just like negative news and want to see a breakup. It’s a human weakness,” said Mr Husain who added gleefully, “Picasso used to say that negative news is more powerful and better for an artist. Negative remains in the mind for long, positive does not.”

Mr Srivastava was equally puzzled when asked about the alleged breakup. He said, “Husain has another 25 canvasses ready and we will be discussing this as soon as he returns in the first week of April. We have a plan to make an art museum to display these paintings in Kamala Nehru Park in Mumbai. We will be announcing this soon and have already discussed it with the Maharashtra chief minister. Mr Husain and I discussed this at my house the day before he left for Europe. In fact, he signed 25 serigraph prints of his paintings and will do the next 25 when he returns. Mr Husain is on to big-time plans that have been chalked out in discussion with the minister for tourism, Ms Renuka Chaudhary. He said that he has known Ms Chaudhary since he met her in the Rajya Sabha when he was a member.”—By arrangement with AsianAge/Delhi