WORDS: SIMON DE BURTON | PHOTOS: OSG
It’s no exaggeration to say that after Rajinder Singh of Patiala took delivery of India’s first automobile in 1892 (a De Dion Bouton with the unbeatable registration mark ‘0’) the country’s 20th century maharajas went completely car-mad.
Tales of their extravagant automotive purchases abound, with an oft-told one being that of the Maharaja of Alwar who bought seven Rolls-Royces to use as garbage trucks in revenge for being denied a test drive after turning up at a London showroom incognito.
Then there were hunting vehicles, such as Crown Prince Singh of Dungarpur’s 1951 Chevrolet pick-up, which was adapted to enable a troupe of dancing girls to perform for him en route to the jungle, and the Maharaja of Mysore’s 1940 Fordson that was fitted with a wing-mounted seat from which he blasted away at bison.
From May 16–June 10, 2023, the very particular obsession with motoring demonstrated by the maharajas between 1900 and 1950 can be seen in Maharajas at Speed, a one-man show of works by British artist Lincoln Seligman taking place at London’s Osborne Studio Gallery.
Lifelong ‘India-phile’ Seligman will exhibit 40 paintings at the exhibition, highlights of which include Monkey and Maharaja Picnic, a four-foot by three-foot acrylic showing a maharaja driving an open two-seater accompanied by a faithful servant clutching a pet cheetah – and a monkey helping itself to the fruit basket.
On the Road depicts a rear view of a similar pair travelling in a Rolls-Royce (again with reclining cheetah) while Maharaja at Speed draws in the eye through the bearded driver’s flowing turban in vivid orange.
The show has been timed to coincide with the opening of a new car and aircraft museum at the Udai Bilas palace in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, which has been set up by Seligman’s lifelong friend, motor enthusiast Maharaja Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur.
Called Petrolhedonism, the museum features a Seligman Room adorned with 25 prints taken from the Maharajas at Speed series, some of which have been enlarged to four times the size of the originals.
Seligman befriended the maharaja when the pair attended Harrow school during the 1960s, since when the artist has spent several weeks each year at the Udai Bilas palace, using it as a base from which to explore the region in search of inspiration for his paintings.
A less uplifting connection to the world of motoring relates to the fact that, in 1975, Seligman was enjoying a barbecue with his in-laws in the garden of a cottage beneath Dibbles Bridge near Hebden, north Yorkshire, when a Bedford coach crashed 17 feet onto the ground beside him.
The incident killed 33 people on board and injured 13 others – making it the worst road accident in UK history.
Full details of the exhibition (including an e-catalogue, and how to book to see it) can be found at osg.uk.com.
