Major Ainslie's bungalow thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Major Ainslie's bungalow

Painting
June 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The amateur topographical artist Henry Francis Ainslie (1803-79) was born in Edinburgh, the son of General Sir George Robert Ainslie, Bt., who was a numismatist, an MP and former British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at Constantinople, where he acquired a vast collection of antiquities, coins, and works of art. Henry Ainslie joined the British Army’s 83rd Regiment of Foot (later the Royal Ulster Rifles) in 1824. After serving in Ceylon, Canada and the British Isles, he sailed for Bombay with his regiment in February 1849, and between July and November the following year he was stationed in the Pune (Poona) district. This picture depicts his bungalow beside a tank, below Purandhar Hill Fort, Purandhar being the former capital of the Maratha kingdom. Ainslie's drawing style is distinguished by the use of earth colours, strongly outlined in black ink which rendered topographical features into bold simplified forms. While Ainslie’s army training would have included survey drawing, his watercolours, of which the V&A owns twenty-three, were probably painted for his own pleasure rather than as official surveys. From April 1853 Ainslie was on furlough in Europe, retiring on full pay as a lieutenant-colonel in 1855. He died at Westminster, London, on 29 March 1879.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleMajor Ainslie's bungalow
Materials and techniques
Pencil and watercolour, heightened with white
Dimensions
  • Width: 26.4cm
  • Height: 17.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
Deccan, India, my bungalow at Poorundur, the fort of the Vizier behind, | The Bungalow [I lived] in at Poorundhur [a hill fort in the] Deccan, & the Fort of the Vizier behind June 1850 HFA.
Subject depicted
Summary
The amateur topographical artist Henry Francis Ainslie (1803-79) was born in Edinburgh, the son of General Sir George Robert Ainslie, Bt., who was a numismatist, an MP and former British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at Constantinople, where he acquired a vast collection of antiquities, coins, and works of art. Henry Ainslie joined the British Army’s 83rd Regiment of Foot (later the Royal Ulster Rifles) in 1824. After serving in Ceylon, Canada and the British Isles, he sailed for Bombay with his regiment in February 1849, and between July and November the following year he was stationed in the Pune (Poona) district. This picture depicts his bungalow beside a tank, below Purandhar Hill Fort, Purandhar being the former capital of the Maratha kingdom. Ainslie's drawing style is distinguished by the use of earth colours, strongly outlined in black ink which rendered topographical features into bold simplified forms. While Ainslie’s army training would have included survey drawing, his watercolours, of which the V&A owns twenty-three, were probably painted for his own pleasure rather than as official surveys. From April 1853 Ainslie was on furlough in Europe, retiring on full pay as a lieutenant-colonel in 1855. He died at Westminster, London, on 29 March 1879.
Bibliographic reference
Rohatgi P. and Parlett G., assisted by Imray S. and Godrej P. Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: Paintings and Drawings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, 17th to the early 20th century. Published by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, in association with V&A, London, 2008. ISBN 81-901020-9-5. p. 226, p. 41
Collection
Accession number
IS.33-1963

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Record createdSeptember 21, 2004
Record URL
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