Nearly eight decades after it was painted, a historic portrait of Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji, the ‘Grand Old Man of India’, has found a prestigious new home at London’s National Portrait Gallery. The restored work went on display from 2nd September, 2026, in Room 23 as part of the gallery’s ‘Empire and Resistance’ exhibition.
Painted in Bombay in 1946, by artist Sorab M F Pithawalla, the oil-on-canvas portrait measures 756 x 615 x 24 mm and follows the Western realist tradition. As Naoroji died in 1917, the portrait was likely created from photographic references. For over seven decades, it hung prominently at the entrance of London’s legendary India Club on the Strand, becoming part of the institution’s cultural memory. Following the India Club’s closure in 2023, its owner, UK-based Parsi, Yadgar Marker, ensured the portrait was preserved. He offered it on loan to the National Portrait Gallery, which arranged its conservation through The Courtauld Institute of Art’s ‘Painting Pairs’ programme. The restored portrait has been loaned for an initial three-year period, with the possibility of renewal.
Its journey has been remarkable. According to Marker, the painting had originally been offered for display in the UK Parliament but was considered “unfit” for the space. It subsequently found its home at the India Club, where it even survived an attempted theft.
Known as the mentor of Mahatma Gandhi and many other stalwarts, Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji, born into a priestly Parsi family in Bombay in 1825, was a pioneering nationalist, educator and co-founder of the Indian National Congress. In 1892, he became Britain’s first Asian Member of Parliament, representing Finsbury Central. A powerful critic of colonial rule and advocate for Indian self-government, his influence extended across generations of India’s freedom movement. Naoroji also co-founded the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe in 1861.
- વડોદરા પારસી પંચાયત દ્વારા શિષ્યવૃત્તિ માટે અરજીઓ આમંત્રિત - 10 October2026
- નવસારી આતશ બહેરામની સાલગે્રહે 2,200થી વધુ લોકોને શ્રદ્ધા અને સ્નેહના બંધનમાં જોડ્યા - 10 October2026
- નવસારીએ ભારતના ગ્રાન્ડ ઓલ્ડ મેનને સન્માન આપ્યું - 10 October2026
