About

The Chitrakar legacy derives from generations of artists and visual documentarians from the Chitrakar family. The collection consists of paintings and manuscripts dating back to the early 18th century and, photographs, negatives, backdrop and cameras dating to mid 19th century. 

 

The name “Chitrakar” means painter in Nepali and have been painters for generations. Dirgha Man Chitrakar (1877–1951) was known to be an adept painter. When photography was introduced to Nepal in the late 1800s, many Chitrakars, including Dirgha Man added it to their visual repertoire. He worked as a court painter and photographer for Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher (ruled 1901-1929). He also accompanied the Prime Minister in his trip to England and France in 1908. Dirgha Man worked for close to 50 years in the palace documenting the Prime Ministers and the King, their achievements, families, ceremonies and palaces. Photography was accessible to the privileged few and besides documenting the Rana pomp and glamour, the photographs of daily ordinary life, and landscape that Dirgha Man took, give us a rare glimpse of life at that time.

When Dirgha Man retired from the palace, his only son, Ganesh Man Chitrakar (1916–1985) took over his position. He worked in the palace until the last Rana Prime Minister Mohan Shamsher (ruled 1948–1951). Under the Shah regime, Nepal began to open to the outside world and the first international development organisations set up offices in the country. Photography took on a different role in the private and public sphere, and was adopted by the state, international agencies and the public to tell an emerging story of national development. He worked as a Chief Photographer for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1952–1970 and extensively documented road building, agriculture, forestry and vocational training activities throughout Nepal. He made the first aerial photographic survey of the Kathmandu Valley in 1955, and was the first person in the country to develop colour slides. Ganesh Man was also employed by UNESCO to photograph the landscape and monuments of the historic cities of the Kathmandu Valley. By the time Ganesh Man opened his black and white studio, named Ganesh Photo Lab, in the 1970s, Nepal had already been open to the outside world for a couple of decades. No longer was photography used only by the elite aristocracy. 

 

Dirgha Man and Ganesh Man’s photographs captured the shift in the use of photography. They show how it progressed from during the restrictive Rana period, when access to the outside world and photography was limited to the privileged few, to the post-Rana era when photography took on a different shape in the private and public sphere. It demonstrates how the state, international agencies and the public adopted photography to tell a national story of progress. These images document the shift from portraits and political pomp, to photographs of development, the land and the people. 

 

The Chitrakar family history is intertwined with Nepal’s political history. As painters and photographers, through the generations, they have made important contributions.These images span about 100 years exploring all aspects of life: from rulers to common people, official functions and public ceremonies to everyday culture and religious heritage. This collection is not only a family’s heritage but also an account of Nepal’s history.