The Cincinnati Art Museum opened “Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas” on February 6, presenting more than 40 paintings from the 17th through 19th centuries created in the mountainous regions of present-day northern India. The exhibition runs through June 7, 2026, and is organized in partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art and the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C.

The works are court paintings made for royal and noble patrons in the Pahari kingdoms, and the exhibition approaches them through the unifying theme of longing — a human experience the works express across devotional, romantic, and political contexts. Curator Ainsley M. Cameron described the organizing concept: “This exhibition explores paintings through the lens of a shared human emotion.” In addition to visual displays, select paintings are paired with scent, tactile opportunities, and musical soundscapes.

The exhibition is part of a larger research initiative examining the Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim Collection. An accompanying illustrated volume, “Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories,” will be published by Yale University Press and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The galleries are located at G124 and G125, near the Terrace Café, and admission is free.

Source: Cincinnati Art Museum