National Museum of Asian Art Presents Paintings From India’s Himalayan Kingdoms in New Exhibition

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC has announced “Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms,” on view from April 18, 2026, through July 26, 2026. Juxtaposing canonical masterpieces and never-before-seen works, the exhibition’s 48 paintings and colored drawings reveal the ingenuity of artists who drew from both local and transregional traditions.

For centuries, scores of small Hindu kingdoms dotted the region where the tallest mountains on Earth rose from the plains of north India. Around 1630, their rulers began commissioning paintings that proved extraordinary—some with intricate details, delicate shading and naturalistic figures; others vivid, glittering and stylized.

“These paintings are swoon-worthy,” said Debra Diamond, the Elizabeth Moynihan Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art. “Created with opaque watercolors made from ground pigments, beetle wings and gold, it’s no surprise that they are among the most beloved of Indian paintings. Paradoxically, they also are among the least well understood.”

Challenging the methodologies of traditional art histories, “Of the Hills” explores the impact of collaboration on creativity in three key periods from 1620 to 1830. The chronological framework invites visitors to appreciate the boldness of abstractions, the nuances of love and the many visual details that are, by turns, clever, humorous and awe-inspiring. An introductory gallery acquaints visitors with the region by exploring how painters helped establish the Himalayas as a sacred geography.

Some of these artworks have never been exhibited publicly before. Many come from the museum’s 2017–2018 acquisitions from the collection of Ralph Benkaim and art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim. “Of the Hills” brings these works into conversation with the museum’s historic collections and paintings from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

“We are thrilled to share these extraordinary paintings from the Benkaim collection with the public, some for the very first time,” said Chase F. Robinson, director of the National Museum of Asian Art. “Together with other works from our museum’s rich South Asian and Himalayan collections, they allow us to deepen our understanding of Indian culture and pursue new avenues of scholarship.”

“Of the Hills” will run concurrently with “Epic of the Northwest Himalayas: Pahari Paintings from the ‘Shangri’ Ramayana” at the Cleveland Museum of Art (April 19, 2026–Aug. 9, 2026) and “Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms, 1680–1820” at the Cincinnati Museum of Art (Feb. 6, 2026–June 7, 2026). Curators from all three museums collaborated with Catherine Glynn Benkaim, Vijay Sharma and Sarang Sharma on Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories, a catalogue that details the Pahari paintings from the Benkaim Collection.