‘Crucial part of modernism’s pre-history’: 200 artworks showcase India under British rule

Several of Forbes’ watercolours — drawn from his collection of 150 folio volumes containing over 52,000 pages of sketches and observations — are featured in the exhibition in Delhi

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 30, 2025 09:04 AM IST

The exhibition at DAG will continue until July 5

In 1765, a 16-year-old Scottish writer, James Forbes, arrived in India to begin his career as a junior clerk with the East India Company — unaware that the subcontinent would be his home for the next 18 years.

During this time, Forbes travelled extensively, from Bombay in Maharashtra to Surat, Bharuch and Dabhoi in Gujarat, and as far as Agra and the Malabar Coast. As he steadily advanced within the Company, he also harnessed his artistic talents to document his encounters.

“What began as descriptions in letters to friends and acquaintances back in England soon evolved into a systematic documentation of his visual and verbal impressions of India,” notes Aditi Mazumdar of the Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) in the publication A Treasury of Life: Indian Company Paintings, that accompanies the eponymous exhibition at DAG, on till July 5.

Several of Forbes’ watercolours — drawn from his collection of 150 folio volumes containing over 52,000 pages of sketches and observations on India’s flora, fauna, culture, customs, and landscapes, portions of which were later published — are featured in the exhibition, which showcases over 200 works from the same genre, spanning 1790 to 1835.

Curator Giles Tillotson, Senior Vice President, DAG, provides a foundational definition of “company paintings,” broadly describing them as paintings “produced by Indian artists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries for European patrons living in India, typically people associated with the British East India Company.”

Expansive in scope, the collection is thoughtfully divided into three principal categories: ‘natural history’, which showcases India’s rich biodiversity; ‘architecture’, offering depictions of historic monuments and urban vistas that fuse Indian and European stylistic influences; and ‘Indian manners and customs’, that includes portrayals of people from specific trades and castes, also capturing the cultural tapestry of the time.

While the nuances of the artworks are telling, the essays in the publication offer critical context that deepens their understanding. Viewers are introduced to several prominent European patrons — including Lady Mary Impey, wife of Sir Elijah Impey, Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Judicature, who employed artists in the 1770s to portray birds, animals and plants; and Claude Martin in Lucknow, who commissioned natural history studies from artists otherwise engaged in the Nawab’s court. Tillotson notes how over time, the elitist artistic practice turned into a form of popular art.

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While the Mughal era saw interest in studying architectural buildings, Malini Roy (the British Library) emphasises there was a shift in approach with the arrival of the British, as several artistic commissions now required primarily illustrating the front facades, as seen in works commissioned by French officer Jean Baptiste Gentil who in the 1770s had artists document palaces and monuments in Faizabad, Delhi and Agra.

There are also tales and buildings lost in time. A set of watercolours from the Murshidabad School produced at the end of the 18th century depicts 10 early British buildings in Bengal, only one of which arguably remains — the Parade Ground in Berhampore. “They provide useful evidence of the imported foreign architectural style that was to influence much building during the following century, not only by the British but by the Murshidabad nawabs themselves,” writes historian Rosie Llewellyn-Jones.

Describing company paintings as a “crucial part of modernism’s pre-history”, Ashish Anand, CEO and Managing Director of DAG, highlights: “They capture a moment when Indian painters moved beyond traditional court patronage to embrace new patrons, subjects and styles — laying the foundation for future shifts in Indian art.”

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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