1945 (ca.), William H. Johnson, Nehru and Gandhi -- Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington)
From the museum label:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), known widely as the Mahatma (Great Soul), was an Indian lawyer who advocated nonviolent protest and resistance against British colonial rule of India. As a young man he practiced law in South Africa (another British colony) and campaigned for civil rights. On his return to India, Gandhi led the Indian National Congress and pushed for India's independence from British colonial rule. His protest marches, peaceful boycotts, personal fasts, and many arrests made him a national icon.
Johnson depicted Gandhi to the right of Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), who led the Indian National Congress in the 1920s and 1930s and became India's first prime minister after the British withdrawal in 1947. Johnson portrayed the two nationalists wearing clothing that reflects their roles. Gandhi, the Hindu traditionalist, is clad in the informal garb of the Indian people. Nehru's more formal dress reflects his vision of a modern India on the international stage. The skeletal bodies and shrouded remains that surround them are haunting reminders of famine and poverty during the final years of British rule.
1945 (ca.), William H. Johnson, Nehru and Gandhi -- Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington)
From the museum label:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), known widely as the Mahatma (Great Soul), was an Indian lawyer who advocated nonviolent protest and resistance against British colonial rule of India. As a young man he practiced law in South Africa (another British colony) and campaigned for civil rights. On his return to India, Gandhi led the Indian National Congress and pushed for India's independence from British colonial rule. His protest marches, peaceful boycotts, personal fasts, and many arrests made him a national icon.
Johnson depicted Gandhi to the right of Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), who led the Indian National Congress in the 1920s and 1930s and became India's first prime minister after the British withdrawal in 1947. Johnson portrayed the two nationalists wearing clothing that reflects their roles. Gandhi, the Hindu traditionalist, is clad in the informal garb of the Indian people. Nehru's more formal dress reflects his vision of a modern India on the international stage. The skeletal bodies and shrouded remains that surround them are haunting reminders of famine and poverty during the final years of British rule.