A major exhibition of Indian art titled “Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms” has opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. Running from April 18 to July 26, 2026, the show features 48 rare paintings created for Hindu kings in the Pahari region of north India between the 1620s and 1830s. Curators highlight the diversity of styles—from lyrical and naturalistic to boldly colored and abstracted—and emphasize the collaborative nature of the artist communities that produced these works. The exhibition includes pieces acquired from art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim, some never publicly exhibited before, alongside loans from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
This exhibition matters because it brings attention to a lesser-known but influential tradition of Indian painting, offering new scholarship on the collaborative practices of Pahari artists. By presenting these works in the American capital alongside related exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum, the show contributes to a broader effort to elevate Pahari art within global art history. The accompanying publication “Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories” further solidifies this cultural and academic initiative.