Maharana Fateh Singh

Object Details

• School/Tradition

  Mewar school

• Provenance

  ?-1989

  Kapoor Galleries, New York, NY, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1989-2012

  Paul F. Walter (1935-2017), acquired from Kapoor Galleries in New York, NY [2]

  2012

  Sale, New York, NY, Bonhams, “Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian,” March 19, 2012, lot 1215 [3]

  2012-2018

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim, purchased from Bonhams Sale, New York, NY [4]

  From 2018

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchase and partial gift from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [5]

  Notes:

  [1] See notes by Debra Diamond, Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art, titled “Maharana Fateh Singh,” 2007, pp. 35-36, copy in object file.

  Kapoor Galleries is a gallery in New York, NY. Founded in 1975, the gallery specializes in art from Indian and the Himalayas, specifically bronzes, sculptures, miniatures, and thangkas.

  [2] See note 1.

  Paul F. Walter was a prolific collector and patron of the arts based in New York. Walter began to collect in the 1960s and was an enthusiastic collector of photography and has a passion for Asian art, amassing a large collection of Indian painting. Objects from his collection may also be found in the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; and the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, Ohio (Walter's alma mater).

  [3] See note 1. Object is described as “Maharana Fateh Singh of Mewar.”

  [4] See note 1.

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim is collector and scholar in the field of Indian painting. Ms. Benkaim met her husband, Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), in the 1970s when she was the curator of Indian painting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Ralph Benkaim was an entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles who started collecting Indian and Islamic art in 1961. The couple were married 1979 and together they amassed a 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.

  [5] See “Appendix B Bill of Sale” and “Appendix C Donor Substantiation Letter,” dated January 2, 2018, copy in object file.

  Research updated January 23, 2023

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Kapoor Galleries, Inc. (established 1975)

  Paul F. Walter (1935-2017)

  Catherine Glynn Benkaim

• Origin

  Mewar, Rajasthan state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1910s, 1900s

• Name

  Kapoor Galleries, Inc., Benkaim, Catherine Glynn, Walter, Paul F.

• Place

  Rajasthan state, Mewar, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Men, Portraits

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings