Sherpa Woman, Darjeeling 

G. Douglas made this print of a Sherpa woman in Darjeeling at an unknown date. The image presents a full-length portrait of a woman in traditional dress, and we might consider this work in the context of British colonial India. British artists frequently depicted the local populations. These images could be framed as objective documentation, but also perpetuated colonial power structures. These types of images were often used in ethnographic studies, travel journals, and as souvenirs for British tourists. Darjeeling, located in the Himalayan foothills, became a popular hill station during the Raj. In this context, the Sherpa community played an important role as guides and porters for mountaineering expeditions. To better understand this print, we might examine the historical context of British colonialism in India, and investigate visual codes used to represent colonized people. This approach allows us to explore the complex relationship between art, power, and representation.