A related painting of a gaddi family, likely by the same hand, is published by W.G. Archer in Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills (London, 1973, p. 234, no. 76). Archer attributes the work to the Kangra artist Hazuri of Ustehar (1850-1929) who was known to many British visitors at Kangra. Trained as a traditional miniaturist, Hazuri's work with British patrons influenced a unique style of painting, which included nontraditional subjects catering to British taste, such as depictions of local tribes, occupations, and costumes.
Hazuri was one of the few successful artists working at a difficult, transitionary period in the Pahari region, though the artist was able to gain recognition from important contemporaries. The Pakistani modern painter Abdur Rahman Chughtai (1894-1975) visited Kangra throughout the 1920s and referred to Hazuri as the last living artist of the Kangra workshop. He noted that the period of patronage from the Maharajas was long over, and many artists had turned to farming as a trade, producing paintings only on the side, at times presenting works to the state in lieu of taxes.
Likewise, the English author and painter Constance Villiers-Stuart (1876 – 1966) wrote a profile on the artist in Burlington Magazine, dubbing Hazuri "The Last of the Rajput Court Painters" (C. Villiers-Stuart, "The Last of the Rajput Court Painters," in The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 48, No. 274, January, 1926, pp. 3-5 and 8-9). Within the profile, she illustrates the breadth of Hazuri's work, including a Pahari-style painting of Krishna with the gopis and Mughal-style portraits of Alexander the Great and Shah Jahan. The British official J.C. French also recalls meeting with Hazuri in Kangra in his book Himalayan Art, Oxford, 1931, pp. 20 and 101. French recalls Hazuri being one of four known artists still in practice after the Kangra earthquake in 1905, which according to French, was locally identified as the end of the traditional Kangra school.
A traditional miniature style painting by Hazuri depicting Vishnu and his incarnations is also in the collection of the British Museum (acc. no. 1926,0217,0.6).
A similar painting to the present lot sold at Christie's New York, 27 September 2023, lot 518 for $12,600.