Manchershaw F. Pithawalla (1872-1937)

Oil portraiture was introduced in India in the late 18^th Century by European artists. From painting portraits of Company officials, these artists made their way in the princely courts of India. Soon the fashion for having one’s portrait painted spread from the landed gentry to the rising elite of Calcutta and Bombay. Portraiture was soon adopted by Indian painters and taught at art schools established by the British. During the first quarter of the 20^th Century several painters from the Sir J. J. School of Art achieved prominence through their naturalistic portraits of well-known members of Indian Society.