Prince Amar Singh II walking in the rain

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to the Stipple Master (Active 1692-1715)

• Court

  Mewar court

• School/Tradition

  Rajput school

• Provenance

  ca. 1690-at least late 19th century

  Mewar Royal Collection, Udaipur, India [1]

  At least late 19th century-?

  Ownership information unknown

  ?-1985

  Unidentified collector, British, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  1985-2001

  Ralph (1914-2001) and Catherine Glynn Benkaim (owned jointly), method of acquisition unknown from Unidentified collector, British [3]

  2001-2012

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, upon death of Ralph Benkaim [4]

  From 2012

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchase and partial gift from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [5]

  Notes:

  [1] See the Royal Udaipur family collection number 24/57, inscribed in red ink on the back of the object. According to Debra Diamond, Elizabeth Moynihan Curator for South Asian and Southeast Asian Art, National Museum of Asian Art, on March 27, 2023, the “notations written in red ink are from one of the two late nineteenth-century inventories of the Udaipur court paintings kept in the royal painting storeroom (jotdān).”

  [2] See “Acquisition Justification,” dated April 2012, copy in object file. The “Acquisition Justification” states, “Catherine Benkaim acquired the painting in November 1985 from a British collector.”

  [3] See note 2.

  Ralph (1914-2001) and Catherine Glynn Benkaim were collectors of Indian painting. Mr. Benkaim was an entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles who started collecting Indian painting in 1961 and Ms. Benkaim scholar in the field of Indian painting. Mr. and Ms. Benkaim met in the 1970s when Ms. Benkaim was the curator of Indian painting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The couple were married 1979 and together they created a fine collection of Indian paintings, which included examples from all genres. They collected objects for their collection through dealers and auctions. Objects from their collection may also be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Williams College Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others.

  [4] See “Temporary Custody Receipt,” undated (April 16, 2012), copy in object file. The object was transferred from Catherine Glynn Benkaim to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on April 16, 2012.

  See also object file for copy of the Catherine Glynn Benkaim invoice, to Freer Gallery of Art, dated August 21, 2012.

  [5] See “Appendix B Bill of Sale” and “Appendix C Donor Substantiation Letter,” dated August 20, 2012, copy in object file.

  Research updated December 1, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur (November 19, 2022 to May 14, 2023)

  Masters of Indian Painting (April 28, 2011 to January 8, 2012)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mewar Royal Collection

  Ralph and Catherine Benkaim

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Rajnagar, Rajasthan state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase and partial gift made in 2012 from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1690s, 1680s

• Name

  Mewar Royal Collection, Benkaim, Ralph and Catherine, Benkaim, Catherine Glynn

• Place

  Rajnagar, Rajasthan state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Rain, Art, Sisodia dynasty (861 - 1947), Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Cloud, Ruler

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings