Exhibition looks at evolution of Mumbai's social fabric through 30 portraits

An exhibition at the Mumbai Gallery Weekend has featured 30 portraits to reflect Mumbai's evolving social fabric and artistic landscape from the 19th to the 20th century.

''Face to Face: A Portrait of a City'' by DAG at The Taj Mahal Palace showcases portraits of the individuals and communities who shaped Mumbai's political, cultural and civic life while situating the city within a broader global history and how they have long functioned as markers of power, lineage, aspiration and identity.

The exhibited works chart the development of portraiture across key moments in Mumbai's history, beginning with the introduction of academic realism through colonial institutions to the experimental approaches of India's modernists.

''In a city formed by imperial structures, trade networks and waves of migration, portraiture offers a particularly revealing lens for understanding its layered character,'' the gallery said in a statement. Frank Brooks' 1892 portrait of Jaswatsingji Fatesingji, Thakor Saheb of Limri (Limbdi) is a significant early work in the exhibition. According to the gallery, Brooks, a London-based royal portraitist, was commissioned by the political agent of the Kathiawar Agency -- a union of 193 princely states and settlements in western India -- to create 28 princely portraits and that of the governor of Bombay for display at the Memorial Institute in Rajkot, marking the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria.

The exhibition also highlights V B Pathare's portrait of Dr B R Ambedkar.

Anchoring Ambedkar within the city's intellectual and political milieu, the portrait reflects his deep ties to Bombay through his studies at Elphinstone College, his professorship at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, his election to the Bombay Provincial Legislative Assembly and his Marathi origins. Portraits by Bombay artists such as Baburao Sadwelkar reveal a later moment of artistic transition. ''Though trained in academic realism, Sadwelkar and his contemporaries gradually moved towards more intuitive and individualised modes of expression, anticipating the emergence of modernist sensibilities in mid-twentieth-century Bombay. This shift marks a decisive departure from the conventions of naturalistic portraiture that had prevailed for decades,'' it said.

The exhibition also foregrounds the influential role of the Parsi community in the city's cultural and philanthropic life. A 1944 portrait of Sir Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy, India's first baronet, depicts him in traditional Parsi attire, including the iconic black paghdi or pheta. ''Rising from modest beginnings as a trader, Jeejeebhoy became one of the country's most important philanthropists, supporting hospitals, schools, infrastructure and relief projects across Bombay. His portrait situates the Parsi community prominently within the city's public history.'' M F Pithawalla's 1913 portrait of a Parsi woman illustrates how portraiture served as a medium for self-fashioning within the community. At a time when Parsi women were increasingly visible in civic, cultural and philanthropic spheres, such portraits projected confidence, modernity and social standing. A further dimension of Mumbai's artistic trajectory is represented through works by members of the Progressive Artists' Group including M F Husain. Organised across sections focusing on princely representation, influential figures, the Parsi community, artists' self-portraits and portraits of everyday Maharashtrians, the exhibition demonstrates how, over two centuries, portraiture documented ''not only likeness but also shifts in power, community life, artistic practice and personal identity''.

The other artists featured in the exhibition include M V Dhurandhar, S L Haldankar, V A Mali, Cecil Burns, D C Joglekar, Abalal Rahiman, and J A Lalkaka.

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