Colonel F. G. Oldham, Shimla (1887): Art, History and Details

Colonel F. G. Oldham, Shimla (1887) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In Deen Dayal’s shots of large groups, the sitters are artfully arranged in close proximity, some even touching. But in his family portraits, at least in this album, the individuals are separated. The top image features Colonel H. R. Thuillier (1838–1922) holding his horse’s bridal, his wife Emmeline, their two terriers, and rickshaw drivers. Thuillier became the surveyor general of India the year this photograph was taken by Deen Dayal, who had just given up surveying for photography. Francis Oldham (1839–1923), an engineer at the India Public Works Department, poses with his wife Nora, their son Brian, an unidentified woman, and rickshaw drivers.

Object facts

• Title: Colonel F. G. Oldham, Shimla
• Date: 1887
• Creator attribution: Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905)
• Culture: India
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print
• Dimensions: Image: 13 x 20.3 cm (5 1/8 x 8 in.); Paper: 13 x 20.3 cm (5 1/8 x 8 in.)
• Collection: PH - Misc. 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2016.266.14

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.