Tate has received an outstanding collection of 50 artworks by artists who lived and worked in India during the 18th and 19th centuries. Gifted outright and without the use of tax incentives, this generous donation by Charles Greig, a leading art historian and scholar of British India, is an entirely philanthropic act, made with the desire to ensure these masterworks can be accessed and enjoyed by the nation. This remarkable collection will enable Tate to tell rich new stories about the art, people and culture of India during the period of profound cultural , social and political change brought about by Brit ish colonialism in South Asia.
Built with great care over four decades, Greig’s collection comprises oil paintings, watercolours and miniatures, which reveal the networks of artists and patrons that shaped the visual culture of 18th and 19th century South Asia. The collection includes works by important Indian artists such as Sita Ram and Ghulam Ali Khan, who capitalised on the new market for their work among British East India Company officials . It also includes works by leading European artists such as Johan Zoffany and Rudolf Swoboda who established successful careers in the region, as well as British landscapists like William Hodges, Thomas Daniell and William Daniell . Together, these artworks reflect the complex exchanges, relationships and power dynamics of India and Britain’s shared history throughout these years.
Key highlights include Johan Zoffany’s 1784 oil painting Portrait of Prince Jawan Bakht (also known as Jahandar Shah), which will become one of only three portraits of individual Indian sitters by Zoffany to be held in UK public collections. Having already found fame in Britain, Zoffany travelled to India in 1783. His work captures a period of cross-cultural encounter as the British East India Company increased its stronghold in the region. Rudolph Swoboda’s Sepoy in HH Maharaja Srinagar’s Indian Regiment, 23 Years Old, c.1886, is the first work by the artist to enter a British museum collection. Painted for Queen Victoria and exhibited at the Empire of India Exhibition in London in 1895, the portrait offers a rare glimpse of society under British rule. Three watercolours by Sita Ram are a lso among the collection’s highlights. A prominent Indian artist of the late Mughal period, Sita Ram worked for British patrons, developing a new style that drew upon long-established Indian art traditions as well as European visual languages . These artworks will introduce this genre – often referred to as ‘Company paintings’ – to Tate’s collection for the first time, highlighting the vital contribution of Indian artists to the story of British art.
The public will have their first opportunity to see the works in 2028 , when a dedicated free display will open at Tate Britain.
Alex Farquharson , Director, Tate Britain said:
“As home to the world’s greatest collection of British art, Tate is always looking to tell new and different stories about Britain’s role in international art history. This exceptional gift will significantly strengthen our holdings of art produced in the British Empire and broaden the range of people and histories represented in the national collection. The depth of scholarship and coherence that characterise this collection are a testament to Charles Greig’s expertise and his long-term commitment to bring these works together and understand them in their wider contexts. We are enormously grateful to him for creating such a transformative collection of museum-quality artworks, and for enabling us to share it with the public now and into the future.”
Charles Greig said:
“This collection of Anglo-Indian paintings and Company paintings was put together over 45 years. Throughout that time my focus was exploring the deep and intricate relationship between Britain and the Indian subcontinent through the entwined complexities of the artistic encounter. Most of the works were made in the vanished world before photography and they provide us with a visual record of our rich shared history from about 1770. Assembling this collection has been my life’s primary passion, but at no stage did I ever see myself as other than a temporary steward. Because these works encompass a unique cross-cultural discourse, it seems to me vital that they are preserved intact to be enjoyed and studied by all mankind. A collection built on a life of study deserves to be universally accessible and I am profoundly happy to see these works find a permanent home at Tate.”
