Mahatma Gandhi
Category
Photographs
Date
circa 1940
Materials
Paper
Measurements
11.5 ins (h)8.75 ins (w)
Order this imageCollection
Shaw's Corner, Hertfordshire
NT 1274646
Summary
Photographic print of the Indian anti-colonial nationalist Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948). Quarter length portrait, depicts Gandhi in older age with his characteristic moustache and round metal-framed spectacles. The script at the lower edge reads: "The Beacon Light of the Nation." Shaw travelled to India in 1933 and visited Gandhi. They had previously met in London in 1931 while Gandhi was attending the Second Round Table Conference to discuss the future government of India. Shaw admired his humanitarian outlook and ability to initiate change through peaceful protest. There are two images of Gandhi at Shaw’s Corner reflecting Shaw’s interest in his politics and views: this photograph on the dining room mantelpiece; and the drawing in Shaw’s bedroom (NT 1274709). The inclusion of figures such as Gandhi and Henrik Ibsen on the mantelpiece display is representative of a more humanitarian viewpoint that was staged by Shaw to deliberately challenge the Soviet presence.
Provenance
The Shaw Collection. The house and contents were bequeathed to the National Trust by George Bernard Shaw in 1950, together with Shaw's photographic archive.
Marks and inscriptions
In white script at bottom "The Beacon Light of the Nation"