Artists & the East India Company

View fullsize View fullsize I recently visited the Yale Center for British Art, one of my favorite museums. The exhibition, Painters, Ports, and Profits: Artists and the East India Company, 1750–1850, provided some insight into the world the British encountered. It also offered a feast for the eyes. If you’re able to get to New Haven before 21 June 2026, I highly recommend a visit. If visiting isn’t possible, you’ll be able to find a great many of the works online.* The YCBA has done a wonderful job of digitizing its vast collection, and I’ve referred to those images many, many times in the course of writing my books.Though I’ve set only one book in India, and only briefly, that was decades ago, when historical sources were much more limited: mainly books—often through interlibrary loan—and museums I was able to visit. Consequently, there was a great deal I didn’t understand, particularly about the (primarily) younger sons who went to India in hopes of making their fortunes, or at…