Kalighat painting emerged in nineteenth-century Kolkata around the Kalighat temple, where patua artists made portable pictures for pilgrims and visitors. Bold contours, clear colour and spare backgrounds became its distinguishing language. Alongside devotional subjects, the tradition embraced everyday life and the changing manners of the city. Its practice continues in Bengal today.

This collection of twenty-four paintings brings that visual language into an intimate world of adornment, leisure and imagination. Women comb their hair, lift a veil, hold a rose or pause beside a hookah. A seated gentleman, an ascetic accompanied by a bird and a winged figure beneath a parasol extend the sequence from the familiar to the fanciful.

Across the works, sweeping sari borders and curling strands of hair give movement to otherwise quiet poses. Green, lavender, rose and ivory tones are anchored by emphatic black lines. Jewellery, flowers and expressive hands become small centres of attention, allowing a single gesture to carry the mood of an entire image.

Attributed to an unknown artist and described as approximately 30-40 years old, these works are presented as a later continuation of the Kalighat idiom. Together, they offer a lyrical study of personality, ornament and the theatre of everyday life.