Who painted Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta?

Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta was painted by Charles D'Oyly in 1828.

Where can I see Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta?

Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta is held by Victoria and Albert Museum.

What movement is Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta?

Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta

Charles D'Oyly , 1828

Tom Raw visits Taylor & Co.'s emporium in Calcutta is a paint painting by the Romanticist artist Charles D'Oyly. It dates from 1828 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work depicts a bustling interior of Taylor & Co.

About this work

Overview

A long colonnaded hall is filled with British patrons in tall hats, Indian attendants, and displays of porcelain, cut glass and assorted imported wares.

The work depicts a bustling interior of Taylor & Co., a European‑style emporium in early‑19th‑century Calcutta. A long colonnaded hall is filled with British patrons in tall hats, Indian attendants, and displays of porcelain, cut glass and assorted imported wares. The composition captures a moment of commercial and social activity among the colonial community, framed by chandeliers and stacked crockery.

Subject & Meaning

The scene illustrates a visit by the fictional newcomer Tom Raw, a term for an inexperienced arrival in India, as described in Sir Charles D’Oyly’s comic poem. By placing the naïve figure among fashionable Europeans and attentive Indian staff, the painting humorously comments on the cultural adjustments required of new British officials in the colonial setting.

Technique & Style

Executed in oil on canvas, the painting combines detailed rendering of interior architecture with a lively, narrative quality. D’Oyly employs a clear, linear perspective to organize the space, while the figures are rendered with modest caricature, emphasizing their social roles. The palette balances muted earth tones of the hall with the bright glint of porcelain and glass.

History & Provenance

Sir Charles D’Oyly (1781‑1845), an East India Company officer and founder of a European artistic circle in Calcutta, created the image in 1828 as an illustration for his poem ‘Tom Raw the Griffin.’ Although the picture was not included in the published volume, it survived as a standalone work and entered the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains catalogued as a colonial‑era genre painting.

Artist & collection

Artist

Charles D'Oyly

Charles D’Oyly painted British India in the early 1800s. He made watercolors and prints that showed life in Calcutta—shopkeepers, street scenes, and British officers at work. One piece shows Tom Raw, a fictional British…