Vidya Dehejia
Barbara Stoler Miller Professor of Indian and South Asian Art
South Asian art
Ph.D., Cambridge University, 1967

Biography
In the course of her career, Vidya Dehejia has combined research with teaching and exhibition-related activities around the world. Extensive field travel in South Asia, with visits to sites of importance in Southeast Asia, has given her first hand familiarity with the art of the region. Her background in classical Sanskrit and Tamil, and knowledge of a range of modern Indian languages has proved invaluable. Her writings have incorporated translations of ancient poetry, and material from unpublished manuscripts, in order to illuminate an artistic milieu. She has explored at length the theoretical basis for the portrayal of visual narratives in the context of India’s sculpture and painting, and has examined issues of gender and colonialism. Over time, her work has ranged from Buddhist art of the centuries BC to the esoteric temples of North India, and from the sacred bronzes of the South to the art of British India. Management and curatorial experience at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries provided broader scope to convey the excitement of her field to non-specialist audiences.

In Press:
The Body Adorned: Dissolving Boundaries between Sacred and Profane in India’s Art, Columbia University Press & Mapin Publications, India, forthcoming December 2008.

This book examines the human body as the leitmotif of Indian sculpture and, in the course of five chapters, explores the significance of adornment, the coexistence of the sacred and profane within common boundaries, the apparent paradox of the “sensuous sacred” image, and the insertion of the gods into the world of men in a certain genres of painted manuscripts.

In Press:
Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj, Mapin Publications, India, forthcoming September 2008.

Accompanies an exhibition of the same title that runs Sept 18- Dec 13 2008 at the Wallach Art Gallery, Columbia University.


Contact Information
910 Schermerhorn Hall
Telephone: (212) 854-5691
E-mail: vd2@columbia.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 10-12


Web Sites
Masterpieces of Indian Art & Architecture: learn.columbia.edu/indianart