This sweeping survey of the artistic achievements of Himalayan culture is the first major exhibition to include objects from all the major religions of the region. Created to accompany the landmark art exhibition that will include almost two hundred of the finest works of art created between the sixth and nineteenth centuries in India, Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, this book explores the particular beauty that evolved from the spiritual traditions unique to the Himalayas. Lavishly illustrated with many rarely seen images, Himalayas conveys the spiritual aspirations of those who defied the physical hardships of an arduous mountain terrain to express their soaring creative spirit.

Currently held in private and public collections in North America and Europe, seventy percent of this art has never been published or publicly exhibited. The works include temple sculptures of stone and wood; works in terracotta; cast bronzes with inlaid gemstones, gilding, and paint; colorful paintings—from reverential portraits to depictions of awe-inspiring deities—on cloth, palm leaf, paper, and wood; and ritual objects in various media. Pratapaditya Pal provides a fascinating description of the cultural milieu in which these works of art were created.

Copublished with the Art Institute of Chicago

Pratapaditya Pal is Visiting Curator of India, Himalayan, and Southwest Asian Art at The Art Institute of Chicago and former Senior Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). He is the author or coauthor of over fifty books, monographs, and exhibition catalogs. Amy Heller has been a member of a research team of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris since 1986. Her publications include Tibetan Art (1999).

"Pal has assembled a spectacular and well-balanced representation of [the arts of] all of the principal regions just north of India. . . . A very enlightening and commendable volume."—John Renard, Religion And the Arts

“Clearly articulated descriptions and discussions of iconographic features in this art.”—D. K. Haworth, Choice: Current Reviews For Academic Libraries

Previous Exhibition Dates:
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago: April 5-July 27, 2003
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.: October 19, 2003-January 11, 2004