Cecil Beaton (1904-1980)

Cecil Beaton (1904-1980)
JAIN TEMPLE, CALCUTTA, 1944. Vintage silver gelatin print, image/sheet size 25 x 22cm, with Beaton's credit stamp and British Ministry of Information typed caption affixed to verso.

Cecil Beaton made around 7,000 photographs for Britain's Ministry of Information while covering WWII as an official government photographer, including a number of documentary images from East Asia between 1943 and 1944. His collection of prints and negatives from the war years is held by the Imperial War Museum, London. The official caption on the verso of this print reads: British Official Photograph: Ministry of Information / The Jain Temple, Calcutta./Picture of the Temple of the Jeins, members of a sect who do not conform to the Brahminical system although retaining many features of Hindu religion. They are mostly traders, many of great wealth. Their chief maxim is "Ahimsa Parama Dharma" which means "Regard for life is the highest virtue."/IB.2329. Picture shows:-A woman walking in the Temple gardens, with the temple in the background. (Picture issue 1944).

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