"Tate is always looking to tell new and different stories"
The Tate in London received a collection of 50 Anglo-Indian artworks depicting 18th and 19th-century India.
The collection was donated by UK art historian and scholar Charles Greig, who spent more than 45 years assembling the works.
It includes paintings, watercolours and miniatures by Indian artists such as Sita Ram and Ghulam Ali Khan, alongside European artists Johan Zoffany and Rudolf Swoboda, and British landscapists Thomas Daniell, William Daniell and William Hodges.
The gift was made as a philanthropic donation intended to make the artworks accessible to the public.
It will allow Tate to explore new perspectives on India’s art, people and culture during a period of profound social, political and cultural change brought about by British colonialism.
Greig’s collection documents the artistic relationships and patronage networks that developed across the Indian subcontinent during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Indian artists increasingly found opportunities among British East India Company officials, while European artists travelled to the region and established successful careers.
Among its most significant works is Johan Zoffany’s 1784 oil painting Portrait of Prince Jawan Bakht (also known as Jahandar Shah). It will become one of only three portraits of individual Indian sitters by Zoffany held in UK public collections.
Having established his reputation in Britain, the artist travelled to India in 1783, capturing a period when the East India Company was expanding its influence across the region.
Another highlight is Rudolf Swoboda’s Sepoy in HH Maharaja Srinagar’s Indian Regiment, 23 Years Old, painted around 1886.
Created for Queen Victoria and exhibited at the Empire of India Exhibition in London in 1895, it is the first work by Swoboda to enter a British museum collection and offers a rare visual record of society under British rule.
Three watercolours by Sita Ram are also among the highlights. A prominent artist of the late Mughal period, he worked for British patrons while developing a style that combined established Indian artistic traditions with European visual influences.
The works will introduce Company paintings to Tate’s collection for the first time, recognising the contribution of Indian artists to the wider history of British art.
The public will have their first opportunity to see the collection in 2028, when a dedicated free display opens at Tate Britain in London.
Alex Farquharson, Director of 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.”
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.”
