Portraits of Five Seated Englishmen

Label text from exhibition “Company to Crown: Perceptions and Reactions in British India,” April 8–October 15, 2011, curated by Maliha Noorani, 2009–11 Norma Jean Calderwood Curatorial Fellow, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums: Portraits of Five Seated Englishmen Kota, Rajasthan, India, 19th century Opaque watercolor on paper Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch, 2009.202.259 These two drawings offer a satirical view of the British through an Indian lens, as local artists responded to the growing presence and influence of the English in the time of the Crown Raj. Two European Men in White Hats portrays dandies with brilliant blue eyes and large ears, clad in pith helmets and white suits. Whereas earlier generations of British merchants and officers had adopted Indian ways, Company officers often wore full English dress despite the wilting heat in India. Portraits of Five Seated Gentlemen may either be poking fun at its subjects or simply the whimsical result of a hybrid style. The men, wearing Western dress, are in mid-conversation, perched awkwardly on their chairs, legs askew. The pink tones of their faces are rendered sensitively in gouache technique, which was used widely in Mughal painting. But the artist’s attempt to convey three-dimensionality and volume reflects the growing interest in European style.