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Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas

Friday, February 6–Sunday, June 7, 2026

Vance Waddell and Mayerson Galleries (Galleries 124 and 125)
Free Admission
Press Release

Featuring more than forty works of art, Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas displays colorful court paintings from present-day India dating between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. These small, portable paintings were produced for royal and noble patronage by artists practicing unique artistic techniques. Influenced by the region’s culture and politics, they portray moments of leisure, religious devotion, and political positioning, and were given as gifts between regional nobility, families, and political allies. Many paintings portray devotional acts meant to connect with the divine; others depict individuals and couples who yearn for romantic dalliance; still others portray rulers and noblemen who longed to be at the center of political control.

Organized around the theme of “longing,” the exhibition encourages visitors to experience art as multisensorial. Select paintings are paired with olfactory stations, touch opportunities, and musical soundscapes to heighten the work’s bhava (emotion or mood) and to encourage multiple ways to physically, intellectually, and emotionally connect with art.

Curated by Ainsley M. Cameron, PhD, Curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art & Antiquities at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Free Exhibition Tours

Every Thursday from February 12–June 4, 2026, 6:30–7:30 p.m.

 

Members Opening

Thursday, February 5, 2026, 5–6 p.m.
Details coming soon.

 

CAM Presents: The Sights and Sounds of Longing in Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms

Thursday, February 5, 2026, 6–7 p.m.

 

Exclusive Exhibition Tour for the Friends of South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities w/ Curator Ainsley M. Cameron

Sunday, February 8, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Details coming soon.

 

Sunday Sounds: The Sounds of Longing in North Indian Music

Sunday, February 8, 2026, 1–2 p.m.

 

Curator Conversation with Rose Hairane, Curatorial Assistant of South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities

Thursday, February 26, 2026, 6–7 p.m.

 

CAM Kids Day

Saturday, March 7, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Details coming soon.


Evenings for Educators—Longing: Painting from the Pahari Kingdoms of the Northwest Himalayas

Thursday, March 19, 2026, 4–7 p.m.

 

Create Plus: Surrealist Collage with Nandita Baxi Sheth

Saturday, March 21, 2026, 1–3:30 p.m.

 

UnchARTed

Saturday, April 11, 2026, 1–3 p.m.
Details coming soon.

 

Cincinnati Asian Art Society Lecture by Curator Ainsley M. Cameron

Sunday, May 24, 2026, 2–4 p.m.
Details coming soon.