Just like us, people in the 1800s too wanted to look their best in pictures. They put on their finest clothes, made sure all their nicest possessions were all in the frame and angled the lens so it would tell their side of the story. Through a sampling of the works in Sarmaya’s first ever photo exhibition in Mumbai, we tease out the smaller narratives hidden in the big picture that was India under British rule. Read all about it by clicking the links below.
Portrait of a Nation, A Nation in Portraits: A Sarmaya exhibition
Portrait of a nation
Photographs that form a compelling narrative about India in the 19th century
The Sarmaya guide to power posing in the 1800s
If you were landed, wealthy and influential in 19th-century India, you simply had to get a photograph taken. Here’s what we’ve learnt about taking a great photo from the lords and ladies of colonial India.
Portrait of a Nation, A Nation in Portraits 
Think Small: Carte de Visites, Cabinet Cards & Travelling Portraits 
Exhibition workshops for special-needs kids 
India’s OG Influencers – The expressive portraits of 19th-century royalty 
Beyond the Form: Portraits in Modern Indian Art 
Portraits of a Pandemic 
Painted portrait of an unidentified group of men, Bikaner 
Painted photograph of Udaji Rao II Pawar, Maharaja of Dhar State and his wife Lakshmi Bai 
Untitled (Portrait of a nude woman) 
Book of Kings: Early Mughal portraits in Muraqqa’s 
A Portrait of the God as a Young Boy: Behind the Art of Pichwai Painting