'In this book I have attempted to chronologically chart the interactions between the artists and their audience, to clarify how the instituted artist of the court producing for an exclusive clientele was marginalised along with the popular artists facing the onslaught of colonialism. In the colonial phase the norms and practice of art changed with our absorption of English education, paradoxically giving use at the same time to the concept of Indianness of Indian art. This Indianness in its many variants became a marketable commodity which has continued to harness the Indian artists and their audience in their attempts to establish an identity.' (Excerpt from the author's preface, p. vii)

From the examination of the Mughal and Murshidabad artists to the British influence and the rise of nationalist art, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Indian art in a social and historical context. 21 illustrations accompany the text, as well as a select bibliography for further reading.