The Met’s acquisition comprises 84 Indian paintings and drawings and will be accompanied by a long-term loan of the remainder of Hodgkin’s collection. Together, 122 works spanning the 16th through 19th centuries — including those representing the Mughal, Deccani, Pahari, and Rajasthani styles of painting — will make their way to the Met, where they will be exhibited in 2024. 

The Ashmolean turned down the Howard Hodgkin Indian Collection Trust’s offer to acquire the collection on the basis that it could not establish “clear and secure provenance” for over half of the works, according to reporting by the Guardian last year. Because Hodgkin was adamant about keeping all items in his collection together, the Ashmolean decided against acquiring the collection wholesale. By acquiring only a portion of the works and accepting the rest on long-term loan, the Met’s arrangement allows the collection to remain intact, as Hodgkin wished.1

Consul General of India in New York Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement that he was giving the collection a “warm welcome” at the Met, calling it “an institution with deep and engaging ties with India.”2

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• 1. In response to Hyperallergic’s request for comment, a spokesperson for the museum said: “The Met is thrilled at both of these developments — to have purchased a number of works from the broader collection, and to be able to present the entire collection to the public in 2024.”
• 2. “This special bond has been nurtured through its rich and varied collection of Indian art and heritage, and the conversations that have happened over decades. With the Howard Hodgkin Collection coming to the Met, a new chapter is being written in this ever-flowing cultural engagement,” Jaiswal said.