Christopher Pinney is an anthropologist and art historian, and Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

in the department of anthropology. He is known for his studies on the visual culture of South Asia, specifically India. He was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, in 2013, by bestowing on him the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of literature. Christopher Pinney has travelled India and his collection of

chromolithographs Chromolithography is a method for making multi-colour prints. This type of colour printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and includes all types of lithography that are printed in colour. When chromolithography is used to reproduce ph ...

cover the rural Madhya Pradesh during the turn of the century, cultural festivals like

Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati ( Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad ...

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

and Rang Panchami, historical sites such as Hussain Tekri, Bheruji Mandir, South Park Street Cemetery and Indian Museum in Kolkata, and places like Nepal, Varanasi and Sri Lanka. Pinney has worked and taught at many institutions such as

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, and

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

. He works as Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture at the

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and as the Crowe Visiting Professor of Art History at the

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

. Christopher Pinney has published many books and ''Camera Indica: The Social Life of Indian Photographs'', ''Photos of the Gods'' and ''The Coming of Photography in India'' are some of the notable ones. Pinney has collaborated in the publication of many journals and other publications in the capacity of Editor. he was the co-editor of ''Beyond aesthetics: Art and the technologies of enchantment'', ''Pleasure and the nation: the history, politics and consumption of public culture in India'',; and ''Photography's other histories''.

Awards & Recognitions

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Academics of University College London Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education British Indologists British anthropologists British art historians Historians of Indian art Historians of photography {{UK-academic-stub