Colonial Views of India: Photographs by Eugene Clutterbuck Impey

A free Ashmolean exhibition of previously unseen 19th-century photographs of India by Colonel Eugene Clutterbuck Impey, drawn from 247 glass negatives.

The Ashmolean presents the first exhibition dedicated to photographs and negatives in its own collection, featuring previously unseen images of India by Colonel Eugene Clutterbuck Impey (1830–1904). Impey, an East India Company member who arrived in India in 1851 and later served as a political agent, photographed colonial officers, Indian people, staged scenes of daily life, religious sites, animals and landscapes. The display draws on the 247 glass negatives held at the Ashmolean and examines how such images reinforced stereotypes justifying colonial rule.