Watchmaker, Bombay, c.1980

Amitabh Bachchan and aging extras during a film shoot, Bombay, c.1980

Veena in my kitchen at the Jangpura house, New Delhi, 1976

My parents, Richard and Rati at home, New Delhi, 1975

Drummer at the Chinese New Year celebrations, Tangra, Calcutta, c.1978

Ray at Home, Calcutta, c.1978

Pablo Bartholomew (b.1955, New Delhi) is a self-taught photographer whose practice spans nearly five decades. Since 1979 he’s had over 30 solo exhibitions at galleries, museums, biennales, and photo festivals in India and abroad and his work is part of prominent public and private collections. Since 2000, Bartholomew has been excavating his photographic archive, revisiting the period between 1970 to 1983, resulting in a trilogy — Chronicles of a Past Life: Bombay, PHOTOINK, New Delhi (2012); Outside In: A Tale of Three Cities, PHOTOINK, New Delhi (2013); and The Calcutta Diaries, Art Heritage, New Delhi (2012).

International exhibitions include Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh, (2018 & 2016), Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2017), ‘Memories of the Future – Indian Modernity’, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2017, Where Three Dreams Cross at Whitechapel Gallery, London (2010), and at Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2010), Month of Photography, Tokyo, Japan (2007) and Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France (2007), Angkor Photo Festival, Siem Reap, Cambodia (2006), Nooderlicht Photo Festival, Netherlands (2006 & 2007), Chobimela, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2006), Photographers Gallery, London, (1982) and Museum of Modern Art, Oxford (1982).

Working with his art critic father’s archive of photographs and writings, in 2008, Bartholomew co-conceived the book and exhibition, A Critic’s Eye, which portrayed the cultural milieu of 1950s – 1980s through intimate photographs of his family and artist friends. In September 2012, he self-published Richard Bartholomew—The Art Critic, a voluminous collection of his father’s writings on modern Indian art that chronicled the untold, insider story of the birth of Modern Indian Art.

From 1983 to 2004, Bartholomew’s photojournalistic work featured in every major international publication and won him three World Press Photo awards, including the first prize in 1975 for his series on morphine addicts. In 1984 he won the World Press Photo ‘Picture of the Year’ award for his iconic image of the Bhopal gas tragedy.

In 2013 Bartholomew was awarded a Padma Shri and in 2014 received the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. He is continuing his long-term project on Indian émigrés, discovering his Burmese roots and expanding on the DNA-based cross-border project, which incorporates textiles and weaving between India, Bangladesh, and Burma. Bartholomew is based in Delhi.

The Passerby
22.04.22 – 31.07.22
PHOTOINK, New Delhi
Outside In: A Tale of 3 Cities…the 70s & 80s
27.01.22 – 27.04.22
In Touch, an online exhibition
The Calcutta Diaries
21.12.13 – 23.01.14
Art Heritage, New Delhi
Outside In: A Tale of 3 Cities…the 70s & 80s
13.06.13 – 17.08.13
PHOTOINK, New Delhi
Chronicles of a Past Life: Bombay (1970s - 1980s)
14.01.12 – 24.03.12
PHOTOINK, New Delhi
Outside In: A Tale of 3 Cities...the 70s & 80s

My parents, Richard and Rati at home, New Delhi, 1975

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Outside a hall, New Delhi, 1972

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Self portrait, New Delhi, 1975

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

My brother Robin, New Delhi, 1975

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

A kitchen, New Delhi, 1974

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

A bird in my room, Bombay, 1979

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Self portrait, New Delhi, 1975

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Home, New Delhi, 1975

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Yusuf, New Delhi, 1973

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Pooh with poster, Bombay, 1974

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

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Chronicles of a Past Life: Bombay (1970s - 1980s)

View of midtown from Haji Ali, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Bathers at Mahalakshmi, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Pandit drying his dhoti, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Capitol Talkies building, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Around Colaba Post Office, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Dabbawallahs at Sachivalaya, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Chawls in Parel, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Sleeping outdoors, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Mother and child sleeping, Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

24 × 20 in (60.9 × 50.8 cm)
Ed of 10

Man asleep on Chowpatty Beach (II), Bombay, c.1980

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

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The Calcutta Diaries

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

24 × 20 in (60.9 × 50.8 cm)
Ed of 10

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

24 × 20 in (60.9 × 50.8 cm)
Ed of 10

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

24 × 20 in (60.9 × 50.8 cm)
Ed of 10

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Grandmother series, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Car at 7 Short Street I, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Dilapidated building on BBG street, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

Hoardings, Calcutta, c.1978

Silver gelatin print with selenium toning

20 × 24 in (50.8 × 60.9 cm)
Ed of 10

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