British art historian Charles Greig has gifted 50 works from his collection to Tate Britain. The works were given without any tax incentives and include oil paintings, watercolors, and miniatures by artists who resided in South Asia during the 18th and 19th centuries. In a press release, the museum described Greig’s gift as being “made with the desire to ensure these masterworks can be accessed and enjoyed by the nation.”
Greig built his collection over four decades, and the donated works include paintings by notable Indian artists such as Sita Ram and Ghulam Ali Khan, alongside those by European artists who spent time working in South Asia. Three watercolors combining Indian and European artistic traditions by Sita Ram—included among the donated works—were “company paintings,” produced for patrons from the British East India Company.
Related
German painter Johan Zoffany’s Portrait of Prince Jawan Bakht (also known as Jahandar Shah), 1784, is among the collection’s highlights, and represents a rare Zoffany canvas held in a UK public collection. The gift also features Austrian artist Rudolph Swoboda’s painting Sepoy in HH Maharaja Srinagar’s Indian Regiment, 23 Years Old, 1886, which is the first work by the artist to enter a British museum collection.
Many of the collection’s paintings highlight the social, political, and cultural changes brought on by British colonialism in South Asia. In a statement, Greig said that 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.” He added: “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.”
Alex Farquharson, Tate Britain’s director, said in a statement that Greig’s gift will “broaden the range of people and histories represented in the national collection.” The donated works will be part of a free display in 2028.