Historian Charles Greig donated 50 paintings and watercolours to Tate; from colonial India

Johann Zoffany's 'Portrait of Prince Jawan Bakht' (Image credit: tate.org.uk) A painting is never merely a record of truth, but a subject of representation and reimagination. And artworks specially prepared while recording the British colonial period in India are not merely art, but a glimpse into an India that exists today only in a few inches of frame. This is particularly true of artworks created in India during the 18th and 19th centuries, when British colonial expansion was changing the political and cultural landscape of the subcontinent. According to the Art Newspaper and a press release attributed to Tate, a collection of 50 such works has now found a permanent home at Tate in London, following a donation by British art historian Charles Greig, who spent over 4 decades bringing them together.The collection includes paintings, watercolours and miniatures by Indian and European artists who lived and worked in India. The works offer different perspectives on the period, from portraits of Indian figures to landscapes that record places during a time of considerable change. A free public display featuring works from the collection is planned at Tate Britain in 2028, giving visit...