“Widely regarded as one of the finest of its kind, British artist Howard Hodgkin’s collection of Indian paintings includes works created at the Mughal, Deccan, Rajput, and Pahari courts dating from the 16th to the 19th century. Opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on February 6, 2024, the exhibition Indian Skies: The Howard Hodgkin Collection of Indian Court Painting will present a unique and personal vision of India’s great painting tradition through newly acquired works from the artist’s collection. In 2022, The Met announced a major acquisition of more than 80 drawings and paintings from the Howard Hodgkin Collection.” — The Met
Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO, commented: “Howard Hodgkin’s extraordinary collection of Indian paintings features stunning portraits along with beautifully detailed text illustrations, studies of the natural world, and devotional subjects that are sure to captivate visitors to The Met. The collection was interwoven with the artist’s life—and his experiences in India and his relationships with scholars and artists of Indian art—and often inspired his own creative output. This exhibition celebrates the brilliance and power of these tremendous paintings and offers a glimpse into the artist’s unique vision and passion for one of the world’s great pictorial tradition. We are thrilled to present the works that have recently joined our collection and extend our thanks to The Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust for lending additional important works.”
Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, by exchange, 2022
John Guy, Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at The Met, said: “Two counterpoints are reflected and refracted in Hodgkin’s collection. First the quiet naturalism of the Persianate aesthetic of Mughal paintings, witnessed in portraiture and nature studies and second, as exemplified in the Rajput and Pahari court traditions, a celebration of the radiant energy of the Indian landscape. Here scenes are filled with the saturated colors of the earth and exuberant greenery, skies filled with the looming darkness of rain-laden monsoon clouds. These are vibrant emotive paintings, evocative of place and time, winter and summer, day and night.”
Indian Skies: The Howard Hodgkin Collection of Indian Court Painting is co-curated by John Guy, Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art, and Navina Najat Haidar, Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Curator in Charge of Islamic Art, at The Met.
Title image: An Elephant and Keeper. Attributed to Ilyas Khan Bahadur. India, Mughal, ca. 1650-60. Opaque color and gold on paper. Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, Harris Brisbane Dick, and 2020 Benefit Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks, Lila Acheson Wallace, and Friends of Islamic. Art Gifts; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022.
Images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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