During the reign of Maharana Amar Singh, Mewar painters added royal portraits and grisaille painting to the Mewar canon. They produced numerous grisaille paintings of the king with ladies in royal gardens. Here, understated tonalities convey a romantic mood with great economy of means. The grisaille style was in all likelihood adopted from the Deccan or Mughal courts, where such nim qalam paintings were popular in the 17th century. The beak-nosed profiles and large lotus eyes of the ladies are typical of Mewar painting of this period.
Provenance:
1915-1922 - 1968
Professor Alban G. Widgery (1887-1968), method of acquisition unknown in India [1]
From 1968
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Professor Alban G. Widgery [2]
Notes:
[1] See offer letter from Alban G. Widgery to Dr. Howard P. Stern, dated January 9, 1967, copy in object file. Alban G. Widgery’s letter states that his collection was “[…] collected in India, where I spent many years studying Indian art.”
See also memo from Richard Ettinghausen to Dr. [John A.] Pope, titled “The Widgery Collection,” dated February 2, 1967, copy in object file. Richard Ettinghausen’s memo states that Alban G. Widgery’s amassed his collection in Baroda State (now Gujarat), India between the 1915 and 1922.
Alban Gregory Widgery (1887-1968) was a distinguished scholar and professor of religious philosophy, as well as a collector of Indian paintings and Tibetan tangkas. Works from his collection may also be found at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. Born in Bloxwich, Staffordshire, England, Widgery received his BA (1908) and MA (1912) from the St. Catherine's College, University of Cambridge. In 1915, following a year at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, Widgery became the Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bombay (formerly attached to the College of Baroda; now University of Mumbai) and was an advisor on educational matters for the Maharajah of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad III (1875-1939; reign 1875-1939). After briefly returning to the University of Cambridge (1923-1926) as the Stanton Lecturer in the Philosophy, Widgery returned to India where he served as the President of the College of Baroda Commission (1926-1928), facilitating with the formation of that university (now Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda). Widgery permanently settled in the United States following a year-long lectureship at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME (1928-1929). He subsequently held positions at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (1929-1930); Duke University, Durham, NC (1930-1946/1952); and Amherst College, MA (1953-1954). After 1954, Widgery and his wife, Marion Wilkins (1886-1965), settled in the mountains near Winchester, VA.
[2] See object file for copy of Alban G. Widgery invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated January 12, 1968, and marked approved on November 20, 1967. See also object file for copy of purchase approval to the Commission of Fine Arts, marked approved on November 20, 1967.
