A portrait of a Sikh artist at work, possibly a self-portrait, attributable to Bishan Singh, North India, Amritsar or Lahore, circa 1860-70

The present painting is attributable to the well-known artist Bishan Singh. Depicting a young Sikh painter at work, likely to be Bishan Singh himself, makes this a rare work and possibly one of the few known portraits of the artist.

Often known as Baba Bishan Singh, he came from a family of artists working in Punjab in the second half of the nineteenth century. Although mainly working in Lahore and Amritsar, the family is also known to have worked in the neighbouring princely states of Kapurthala, Patiala and Nabha. Bishan Singh and his brother, Kishan Singh, worked as muralists at important Sikh shrines in Amritsar such as the Akal Takht and the Golden Temple. The Exhibition of Arts and Crafts held at Lahore in 1864 displayed ten pictures by Bishan Singh including durbars of Ranjit Singh, Sher Singh and the Municipal Committee of Amritsar (W.G. Archer, Paintings of the Sikhs, London, 1966, p.61).

The artist depicted in the present lot is working on a seated portrait of a Sikh figure who bears a resemblance to Raja Suchet Singh, a Dogra nobleman who was in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. For comparison, see ‘The Court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’ by Bishan Singh dated to 1864, now in the Toor Collection (D. Toor, In Pursuit of Empire – Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London 2018, pp.90-95). The fourth nobleman seated to the left of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with his right leg resting on his left thigh, identified as Raja Suchet Singh, is illustrated on p.91.

Th colour palette of the present watercolour comprising vibrant reds and oranges, deep blues and acidic greens on the clothing of the two men, and the paint colours held in containers in the foreground, in contrast to the uncoloured background, is reminiscent of Bishan Singh’s known works. A painting of comparable format attributed to Bishan Singh with three shawl darners seated on very similar matting sold recently at Christie's New York, 20 March 2024, lot 561. A larger depiction of weavers arranging shawls in bales, from a series of watercolours showing various stages of shawl manufacture, painted by a Sikh artist working in the style of Bishan Singh, sold in these rooms, 24 April 2024, lot 139.

Additional works by Bishan Singh include an illustration of a Kashmir shawl weaving workshop, inscribed in Gurmukhi in the lower left corner with the name of Bishan Singh and dated vikram samvat 1931 (circa 1874 AD),in the Musée Guimet, Paris (acc. no.MA 12702). A durbar scene attributed to the artist depicting Maharaja Sher Singh watching a dance performance, formerly in the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection, is now in the San Diego Museum of Art, (acc. no.1990.1348; B.N. Goswamy and C. Smith, Domains of Wonder, San Diego, 2005, fig. no.112, pp.262-3). Another painting attributable to Bishan Singh, depicting ‘Dost Muhammad being received by Sher Singh in Lahore on his way to regain the throne of Kabul’, is in the Kapany Collection (Susan Stronge (ed.), The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, London 1999, no.189, pp.166-7). A further example, depicting a nautch being performed for Maharaja Sher Singh, attributable to Bishan Singh, was in the private collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan (inv. no.M.301; S. Canby, Princes, Poets and Paladins, London, 1998, no.145, p.186). This painting, alongside a further processional painting of Maharaja Sher Singh, signed by Bishan Singh, is now in the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (AKM202-3).

For additional paintings by or attributed to Bishan Singh, see D. Toor, In Pursuit of Empire – Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London 2018, pp.280-5; and D. Toor, Ranjit Singh – Sikh, Warrior, King, exhibition catalogue, The Wallace Collection, London, 2024, no.81, pp.122-3.

Another self-portrait, thought to be of Bishan Singh as a much older man, identified by a label on the reverse, sold at Bonhams London, 25 October 2007, lot 483. A further painting, depicting the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ascribed to Bishan Singh and dated circa 1870-71, sold in these rooms, 31 March 2021, lot 44. It has been suggested the the bespectacled figure whose head and shoulders appear at the bottom lower left is also a self-portrait of the artist.