NEW YORK, NY.- 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 presents 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 exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions, and the Friends of Islamic Art.

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.”

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.”

Navina Najat Haidar, Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Curator in Charge of Islamic Art at The Met, said: “Exciting moments from epic narratives; emotionally touching images such as a family of embracing elephants; and sharply observed portraits of kings and courtiers, are among the works to be enjoyed.”

Exhibition Overview

The exhibition will present over 120 examples of Indian court paintings assembled by Hodgkin over a lifetime of collecting. This highly individual collection represents the artist’s response to the color, subject matter, and the emotive content of Indian painting. The exhibition will comprise works newly acquired by the Museum and will be supplemented by loans from The Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust.

Underlying Hodgkin’s eclectic collection—which includes portraits, palace scenes, royal hunts, illustrations to religious epics, devotional subjects, and nature studies—are several unifying themes that reflect Hodgkin’s preferences for compositions that convey narrative drama, poetic allusion, and emotional intensity. He also had a predilection for elephants rendered as portraits and in action.

The exhibition reflects Hodgkin’s personal taste while remaining true to the scholarly traditions around Indian painting. The paintings will be arranged in a chronological sequence by school, starting with the earliest works of the 16th-century Mughal era and related Deccani works, followed by the later Rajput and Pahari schools. A third space is given over to the celebration of the elephant paintings, which span all schools. The presentation will also include Hodgkin’s paintings Small Indian Sky and In Mirza’s Room, which will be shown in association with related Indian works, alluding to the subtle relationship between Hodgkin’s own work, India, and his collection.

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.