Dhabawallah, or Professional Lunch Distributor, Bombay, Maharashtra
Singh, a pioneer of color street photography, worked and published prolifically from the late 1960s until his sudden death, in 1999. Born into an aristocratic family in Rajasthan, Singh was a thoroughly cosmopolitan artist. He lived abroad for most of his adult life—in Hong Kong, Paris, London, and New York—but his eye was perpetually drawn back to his native India. Working with a handheld camera and color slide film, he recorded the country’s dense milieu in complex, frieze-like compositions teeming with incident, fractured by reflections, and pulsating with opulent color. In the early 1990s, Singh turned his attention to Bombay (now Mumbai), India’s bustling capital of commerce on the Arabian Sea. The street scenes he made there seem to radiate energy, as if the elements are held in suspension by centripetal force. Hands, gestures, and gazes swirl around a still center point, usually anchored by an individual who either pointedly ignores the camera or stares back at it with confrontational directness, as in this portrait of a dhabawalla, who delivers lunch to workers around the city. This print is part of a group of
twenty-one vintage color photographs by the artist acquired directly from his estate.
twenty-one vintage color photographs by the artist acquired directly from his estate.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dhabawallah, or Professional Lunch Distributor, Bombay, Maharashtra
- Artist: Raghubir Singh (Indian, 1942–1999)
- Date: 1992
- Medium: Chromogenic print
- Dimensions: Image: 15 7/8 × 23 1/2 in. (40.3 × 59.7 cm)
Frame: 25 x 32 in. - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, Cynthia Hazen Polsky and several members of The Chairman's Council Gifts, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.260
- Rights and Reproduction: Photograph copyright © Succession Raghubir Singh
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Raghubir Singh
1988, printed 1991
Raghubir Singh
1997
Raghubir Singh
1987
Raghubir Singh
1967, printed 1991
Raghubir Singh
1990
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.