Masterpieces of Indian Art at the Art Institute of Chicago Madhuvanti Ghose

Since the late nineteenth century, the Art Institute of Chicago has amassed a stunning collection of artwork from India. This beautifully illustrated book offers the first overview of the museum's holdings, highlighting some 120 extraordinary pieces, many published here for the first time. These include early coins, Buddhist art from the Gandharan region, medieval Hindu sculpture, Mughal paintings, South Indian bronzes, Jaina religious manuscripts, Kashmiri shawls, paintings from Rajasthan, colonial textiles, and 20th-century art.

Along with spectacular new photography, the objects are accompanied by accessible texts that describe their artistic and historic significance. Organized into thematic sections devoted to different cultures and time periods, Masterpieces of Indian Art at the Art Institute of Chicago offers not only a survey of a relatively unknown but important collection but also a fascinating overview of Indian art from the 2nd century B.C. to modern times.

Madhuvanti Ghose is Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan, and Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.

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