Candid

The Lens and Life of Homai Vyarawalla

July 6, 2012 - January 14, 2013

Homai Vyarawalla; Indian (1913 – 2012) ; Jawaharlal Nehru caught by the camera at Palam airport while waiting for his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, the Indian Ambassador in Moscow, 1954; gelatin silver print; Alkazi Foundation for the Arts

Homai Vyarawalla (1913-2012) was India’s first female photojournalist. This exhibition, the first on Vyarawalla outside of India, will present her photography from the late 1930s to 1970, and narrate her extraordinary life with a biographical film and ephemera from her career.

From early in her career, Homai Vyarawalla documented key events from the generation around Independence, including the historic meeting of Gandhi and the Congress Committee on the 1947 plan for partition, and she recorded the visits to India of world leaders and dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ho Chi Minh, and Zhou Enlai. She was revered in India and her recent death at age 98 generated tributes around the world. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts in New Delhi.

Curated by Beth Citron

Travel for this exhibition was supported by Rasika and Girish Reddy, and The Pierre New York, A Taj Hotel.

Members-Only Reception

July 11, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Join us for a special event for members at the Friend level and higher on July 11! Contact Emilie Dufour at edufour@rmanyc.org or 212-620-50000, ext. 313 for more information.

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Open to the Public

Candid is located in our Theater Level Gallery, below Serai in the colonnade. Admission to the Theater Level Gallery is free of charge, at all times.

Exhibition Resources