The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

India. Calcutta. Harrison Road I with Group of Jogees, after photo by Dr. Kurt Boeck

c. 1890–1910

Photoglob Co.

(Zurich, active c. 1890–1910)
India, 19th century
Photochrom
Image: 20.6 x 26.4 cm (8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in.); Paper: 20.6 x 26.4 cm (8 1/8 x 10 3/8 in.)
Gift of Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer 2019.186
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In 1899, Harrison Road (now Mahatma Gandhi Road) became the first road to be lit by electricity in Kolkatta (formerly Calcutta).

Description

The light poles in the image suggest the photo was taken after that event. The Jogees or Jogis are a rapidly shrinking caste that began as a community of people who practiced yoga and worshipped the Hindu god Shiva. Many earn their living as religious beggars. They traditionally wear saffron-colored clothing, but the printers in Switzerland who added the color to this image did not know that.
  • Collection of Gunter Heil, Germany
    Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA
    September 9, 2019
    the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=India. Calcutta. Harrison Road I with Group of Jogees, after photo by Dr. Kurt Boeck|url=false|author=Photoglob Co.|year=c. 1890–1910|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.186