John Murray
The Taj Mahal from the East

Public Domain

ExpandFavorite

Artist John Murray (Scottish, 1809–1898)Scottish, 1809–1898

CultureScottish

Titles

The Taj Mahal from the East

Date1858–1862

Place depictedAgra, India

MediumWaxed paper negative

DimensionsImage: 10 7/8 × 14 3/16 in. (27.6 × 36 cm)
Sheet: 10 7/8 × 14 3/16 in. (27.6 × 36 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Director's Accessions Endowment

Object number2018.3

Current Location

The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building

Gallery 208

On view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

Description

John Murray, a doctor in the India Medical Service, took up photography in the late 1840s. While stationed near Agra, he produced hundreds of large-format studies of Mughal architecture in northwest India, including many photographs of the Taj Mahal. Here, he pictured India’s most iconic monument on the bank of the Yamuna River. For practical reasons, Murray used paper negatives when photographing on location, rather than the newer, sharper, and faster process of glass negatives, which required an on-site darkroom.

ProvenanceBy descent within the Murray family; [Sothebys London, June 18, 1999]; purchased by Kanwardip Gujral; [Bonhams London, April 9, 2008, lot 82]; purchased by a private collector; [Prahlad Bubar, London]; purchased by MFAH, 2018.
Exhibition History“Immaculate Conception: Desire and the Creative Impulse, 300 BC–1930,” Prahlad Bubbar, London, October 5–November 22, 2017.

"India Through the Camera's Eye," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 7–August 12, 2018.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

[no inscriptions]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.