Recommended Free Tools
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Free scan · exact hardware match
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Free scan · no reinstall
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Free scan · under a minute
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
This photo essay follows a selection of images of India from photography’s early years to contemporary practice. The selection ranges from court portraits and public events to a modern photographic project, and includes both Indian photographers and Europeans who photographed India. It accompanied the Science Museum’s 2017 exhibition Illuminating India; it is an illustrated historical selection, not a comprehensive account of every tradition in Indian photography.
What the photo essay covers
Quartz presented “Impressions of India from the dawn of photography to the 21st century” as a chronological look at photographs made in or about India. Its selection reached back to 1857 and continued to contemporary work. Scroll republished the essay as “How photography evolved in India, from 1857 to the 21st century.” Read the Quartz photo essay or view Scroll’s republication and captions.
The photographers named include Ahmad Ali Khan, Homai Vyarawalla, and Vasantha Yogananthan, as well as European photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson. This mix makes the selection a record of different photographic relationships to India, rather than a single national style or uninterrupted story of the medium.
From early portraits to public life
Among the essay’s early examples are a court portrait dated 1860 and an 1870 self-portrait described in its caption as a Shiva bhakt. A wedding portrait dated between 1920 and 1940 adds another kind of intimate, social subject. Together, these images show portraiture as a recurring thread across the selection, while their dates and settings point to distinct contexts rather than a uniform practice.
Vyarawalla’s photograph of Lord Mountbatten among crowds outside Parliament House in Delhi on August 15, 1947, shifts the focus from posed portraiture to a public occasion. Its placement in the essay connects photography with a moment of political change, while the image remains one particular view within the wider history.
Contemporary work and the exhibition setting
The selection extends into the 21st century with photographs by Vasantha Yogananthan from A Myth of Two Souls, made in 2015 and 2016. These contemporary images sit alongside historical portraits and documentary views, underscoring the essay’s broad chronological reach without suggesting that one project represents contemporary Indian photography as a whole.
The Science Museum in London presented the selection from October 4, 2017, as part of Illuminating India. Quartz framed the exhibition in relation to the 70th anniversary of India’s independence from British rule. Those dates describe a past exhibition, not a current listing or indication that the show remains on view.
Rank #3
- Premium Print: This PosterEnvy 12x18 inch poster is printed on Durable, Heavy Duty Paper, Designed to last many years - features Andrew Carnegie portrait and library quote
- Proudly Made in the USA: PosterEnvy is a Family owned business, delivering top-notch posters around the world for over 20 years - historical figure portrait, library advocate
- Solar Powered Production: All our posters are designed and printed using solar energy, with crisp vivid artwork - Carnegie legacy, education, philanthropy
- Historic Carnegie Portrait: Classic black and white portrait of Andrew Carnegie with his inspiring quote about library benefits for communities and people
- Perfect Gift Idea: Ideal for librarians, educators, book lovers, history enthusiasts, and anyone who values education and community development
Credits and how to use the captions
The reproduced captions credit collections and galleries including the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, the Trustees of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, Galerie Thomas Zander, and Vasantha Yogananthan. Credits are specific to individual images: consult the caption attached to a photograph before attributing it, and do not assume that appearance in an article grants permission to reuse the image.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Hard Cover: Preserve your special moments with our 8x8 Hardcover PhotoBook, elegantly bound in a classic white cover.
- High Quality Binding: Each page is printed on premium Fujicolor paper, ensuring long-lasting color and exceptional image quality.
- Perfect for Gifting: Celebrate life's moments with a personalized gift. Ideal for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, friends, family, and travel diaries.
- Proudly Made in the USA: We make our photobooks with love right here in the USA. Our high quality products are made with care and packaged carefully for safe transit. If you have any questions about your product our friendly team are happy to help.
- Durable and Long-Lasting: Our Hardcover PhotoBooks are designed to withstand the test of time, providing a beautiful keepsake that can be cherished for years to come.
Rank #4
- DISPLAY WORTHY DESIGN - Dark grey cloth-bound hardcover with black text creates a decorative photo album that preserves memories beautifully while looking like a modern book on a shelf or coffee table.
- STANDARD PRINT CAPACITY - Holds up to 160 horizontal 4 by 6 inch photos across 80 pages of high-quality off-white 150 grams per square meter paper, ideal for standard photo prints.
- EXPANDABLE LAY FLAT BINDING - Smart binding expands as you add photos, helping the album keep a neat 90-degree shape when filled for clean coffee table or shelf display.
- CLEAN PHOTO ATTACHMENT - Use photo corners or stickers sold separately to secure prints neatly, arrange pages with ease, and create a do it yourself scrapbook album or memory book without messy glue.
- MEANINGFUL KEEPSAKE GIFT - Minimalist book-like style makes a thoughtful family photo album, travel photo album, wedding memory book, baby photo album, or anniversary keepsake for preserving important moments.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
