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Krishna and the Cowherds Emerge from the Forest
Krishna and the Cowherds Emerge from the Forest

Krishna and the Cowherds Emerge from the Forest

Former TitleKrishna with Cowherds in the Forest
CulturePahari
Dateca. 1800
MediumInk and color on paper
DimensionsOverall: 6 7/8 × 10 7/8 inches (17.46 × 27.62 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number34-108
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 222
Collections
Exhibition History

Loan Exhibition of Early Indian Sculptures, Paintings, and Bronzes, College Art Association Exhibition, Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, 1935-1936, no. 83 as Hour of Cowdust.

Art of India, Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, OK, February–March, 1949, no cat.

Art of Greater India, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, March 1-April 16, 1950, no. 124 as Hour of Cowdust.

Sages and Heroes: Storytelling in Asian Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 12, 2025–November 30, 2025, no cat.



Gallery Label
Recognizable by his crown and pose holding a flute, Krishna is shown leading his group of cowherders and cattle out of the forest. The story moves from the lower right to the lower left of the composition, where a group of women and children turn to greet them, and then follows the herd to the top left, where a palace hovers in the background. Quick, inky brushstrokes sketch out this lively scene, which was a study for a later painting. Notice the artist’s attention to expressions and gestures, which add to the emotional impact of the drawing.
Provenance

With Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, by 1934;

Purchased from Heeramaneck Galleries by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1934.

Published References

Alvan C. Eastman, Catalog of the Heeramaneck Collection of Early Indian Sculptures, Paintings, Bronzes, and Textiles (New York: Nasli M. Heeramaneck, 1934), 21.

Nasli Heeramaneck, Loan Exhibition of Early Indian Sculptures Paintings, and Bronzes, exh. cat. (New York: Heeramaneck Galleries, 1935), 23, plate 83, (repro.).

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Art of Greater India: 3000 B.C.-2800 A.D., edited by Henry Trubner, exh. cat. (Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum, 1950), 72, plate 124, (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 2, Art of the Orient, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 144, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.