Lawh wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum

About this place

Lawh wa Qalam is devoted to the work and ideas of Indian modernist artist M. F. Husain, who spent part of his later life in Qatar. The museum's name refers to canvas and pen, and the displays place paintings, film and design within a career that crossed South Asian, Arab and international cultural worlds. Although contemporary in date, it records an important chapter in Qatar's development as a patron and meeting place for modern art. A tourist can use the displays to connect individual objects with the larger changes that reshaped Qatar: pearling and maritime trade, family and domestic life, the arrival of oil, state formation and rapid urban growth. Allow time to read labels and compare materials, dates and provenances instead of viewing the collection only as decoration. Temporary exhibitions and access arrangements can change, so checking the venue before travelling is sensible.