Maharana Jagat Singh II hunting bear

Mewar Court Rajput School Mid-eighteenth century-early 1970s Mewar Royal Collection [1] Early 1970s-? Ownership information unknown, Switzerland [2] ?-1986 Dr. William K. Ehrenfeld (1935-2005), method of acquisition unknown [3] 1986-2012 Catherine Glynn Benkaim, acquired from Dr. William K. Ehrenfeld [4] From 2012 Freer Gallery of Art, purchase and partial gift from Catherine Glynn Benkaim [5] Notes: [1] See the Mewar Royal Collection number 9/232, inscribed in red ink on the back of the object. According to Debra Diamond, Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art, National Museum of Asian Art, on March 27, 2023, the “notations written in red ink are from one of the two late nineteenth-century inventories of the Udaipur court paintings kept in the royal painting storeroom (jotdan).” See also curatorial justification titled “Two paintings from the reign of Maharana Jagat Singh, Curatorial justification written by Debra Diamond,” April 26, 2012, pp. 2-3, copy in object file. This object was presumably part of the large group of paintings sent by the Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar (1921-1984) to Switzerland in the early 1970s. [2] See note 1. [3] See note 1. Dr. William K. Ehrenfeld was a notable vascular surgeon, professor, and collector of Southeast Asian and Indian art, including prints, photographs, and drawing. Most notable, Dr. Ehrenfeld was a collector of Indian painting, which he began collecting in the 1960s. Born in New Jersey, Dr. Ehrenfeld earned his medical degree from the New York Medical College in 1960 before relocating to San Francisco, California for a fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Ehrenfeld was introduced to Indian art while traveling as a lecturer and he regularly visited India and England to purchase objects for his collection. Many of the items from Dr. Ehrenfeld’s collection may be found at various San Francisco institutions, including the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. [4] See note 1. Catherine Glynn Benkaim is collector and scholar in the field of Indian painting. Ms. Benkaim met her husband, Ralph Benkaim (1914-2001), in the 1970s when she was the curator of Indian painting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Ralph Benkaim was an entertainment lawyer from Los Angles who started collecting Indian and Islamic art in 1961. The couple were married 1979 and together they amassed a collection of Indian paintings, which included examples from all genres. They collected objects for their collection through dealers and auctions. Objects from their collection may also be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Williams College Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among others. [5] See “Appendix B Bill of Sale” and “Appendix C Donor Substantiation Letter,” dated August 20, 2012, copy in object file. Research updated February 14, 2023 Freer Gallery of Art Collection A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur (November 19, 2022 to May 14, 2023) Mewar Royal Collection Dr. William K. Ehrenfeld (1935-2005) Catherine Glynn Benkaim