Chess Players, Monsoon Floods, Benares, Uttar Pradesh

1967, printed 1991
Not on view
Born into an aristocratic family in Jaipur, India, Singh lived and worked in Paris, London, and New York, but his lifelong subject as a photographer was the vibrant culture and landscape of modern India. With its emphasis on visual surprise and spontaneity, Singh's work belongs to the tradition of small-format street photography pioneered by such artists as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank. Unlike many of his European counterparts, however, Singh worked exclusively in color, often composing his images with a graphic complexity akin to that of Mughal miniatures.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chess Players, Monsoon Floods, Benares, Uttar Pradesh
  • Artist: Raghubir Singh (Indian, 1942–1999)
  • Date: 1967, printed 1991
  • Medium: Chromogenic print
  • Dimensions: Image: 10 1/16 × 14 7/8 in. (25.6 × 37.8 cm)
    Sheet: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Cynthia Hazen Polsky Gift, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.1282
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photograph copyright © Succession Raghubir Singh
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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