An Englishwoman who sketched India before photography took hold
This article profiles Emily Eden, an English artist who documented 19th-century Indian society through sketches during her brother's tenure as governor-general. Her work is currently being showcased in a Delhi exhibition that highlights her unique, observant perspective on colonial-era India.
Why it matters
It provides historical context on how colonial-era art serves as a primary source for understanding social structures and cultural diversity before the advent of photography.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Sudha G Tilak DAG Sketched in Shimla, this family is thought to be from Ladakh, reflecting the dress and jewellery of Himalayan traders who crossed the mountain passes each summer Long before photography became the visual language of empire, one Englishwoman was sketching the people she encountered across India with unusual curiosity and precision.
Emily Eden, a gifted artist and writer, belonged to one of Britain's most influential political families. She travelled across northern India in the 1830s while accompanying her brother, George Eden, first Earl of Auckland, the governor-general of India.
Alongside princes, generals and courtiers, she drew servants, attendants, travellers, fakirs, Afghan and Sikh nobles, Akali warriors, hill communities and even the animals that accompanied imperial journeys. Her remarkably broad gaze set her apart from many contemporaries.
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