This exhibition tells the story of Indian god prints, how the worship of Hindu deities became entwined with the export of printmaking expertise from Europe to India. These widely distributed devotional lithographs were printed first in Europe, and later at Indian-run commercial color presses, and became ubiquitous in commercial and domestic spaces across India. The exhibition will trace the history of this genre, and includes important examples of 19th-century prints produced in Germany for export to India, the earliest examples printed by the first Indian-run presses, and classic lithographs from the most famous early and mid-20th century Indian publishers.

Seeing God in Prints, the first formal presentation in the United States of this genre of Indian art, was organized by and first exhibited at International Print Center New York. It was curated by Andrew McCord and Mark Baron. Major support for Seeing God in Prints has been provided by The Reed Foundation, with additional funding from the PECO Foundation. At the Davis, the exhibition is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Helyn MacLean Program Fund. It will complement Painted Songs and Stories: Contemporary Pardhan Gond Art from India (on view from April 7 – June 6).

Elizabeth Wyckoff
Former Assistant Director for Curatorial and Education
and Curator of Prints and Drawings