Jarasandha’s Army Advances Toward Krishna and Balarama, from a Harivamsha (Genealogy of Vishnu). Attributed to Purkhu (act. ca. 1780–ca. 1820), Himachal Pradesh state, Kangra, 1810–15. National Museum of Asian Art Collection. Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection—funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art, S2018.1.17

Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms
Closing Sunday, July 26, 2026 
1050 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC

There’s still time to experience Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms at the National Museum of Asian Art before it closes on July 26.

Rising from the plains of northern India, the Himalayas are a landscape of towering peaks, steep hills, and hidden valleys—an extraordinary region that inspired some of the world’s most captivating yet lesser-known works of art. This remarkable exhibition explores the beauty and history of Pahari paintings created for Hindu courts in India’s Himalayan kingdoms between the 1620s and 1830s.

Pahari artists worked in radically different styles ranging from lyrical and naturalistic to boldly colored and abstracted. Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms illuminates new scholarship on the collaborative artist communities in which most painters worked. Learn about the political, cultural, and religious contexts of these forty-eight exquisite works, and look closely to enter a world of fine detail that delights and astounds.

Of the Hills celebrates the remarkable collection of Pahari paintings the museum acquired from renowned art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim. Some of these artworks have never been exhibited publicly before. They have brought these rare pieces into conversation with their historic collections and paintings on loan from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Of the Hills is accompanied by the major publication Pahari Paintings: Art and Stories and runs concurrently with Pahari exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

To learn more, click here.

National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution. Photo by Jennifer Berry.

Make the most of your visit by joining one of the National Museum of Asian Art’s many free tours and programs happening throughout the summer. These engaging experiences offer fresh insights into the museum’s exceptional collections and provide the perfect way to further explore the stories behind the art.

To view the calendar, click here.