Hussainabad Picture Gallery, Lucknow

Hussainabad Picture Gallery was constructed in 1838 as a graceful summer retreat-known as a “twelve-door pavilion”-for Nawab Mohammad Ali Shah, this terracotta-hued building was once the heart of royal leisure, complete with a mosque, marketplace, and stables for horses and elephants.

Stepping inside, visitors encounter an expansive collection of life-size portraits of the Nawabs of Awadh, painted between 1882 and 1885 by distinguished European artists like Dawling, Gravet, Harrison, and the Indian artist D.S. Singh. These richly detailed paintings adorned with regal costumes and jewellery appear almost alive, with optical illusions so lifelike that figures seem to align their gaze with viewers as they move-rumored to be painted on elephant hide for enhanced realism.

Beyond Nawabi portraits, the gallery also exhibits images of British administrators and officials from the colonial era-offering a compelling visual narrative of Lucknow’s transition through time. Architecturally, the building stands out for its pioneering use of iron pillars in the upper pavilion-a significant innovation in Nawabi-era construction.