Princess Vidita Singh of Barwani is a painter renowned for her choice of muse: Vintage cars. She is dedicated to portraying her subjects on canvas not only for their design elements but also for their “soul”.
Barwani, one of Central Province’s respected princely states, has a unique legacy to keep — that of its love for automobiles — which has resulted in the family owning and also restoring fleets of vintage cars, some owned by erstwhile royals and others in the repertoire of collectors. The present- day head, Rana Manvendra Singhji, is one of the world’s most respected automobile restorer, published automotive historian and the driving force behind the Cartier Concours d’Elegance.
He brings to life many an automobile, discovered by him lying in utter disdain, while his daughter, the delicately beautiful, Princess Vidita Singh, shares his love for vintage four-wheeled wonders, bringing to life canvases, large and small, where she paints these majestic automobiles as well as their venerable symbols.
In her art, you could find a pink Cadillac winding its way through a dusty, country road, a Rolls Royce spotting a tiger striding in the jungles of Kanha through its shiny rearview mirror, and an old Bentley tire caught under the sharp Indian sun.
Granddaughter of the legendary Congressman Dinesh Singh, Vidita lives in Indore and spends her time bringing up her son and painting cars through old references, art pieces and pictures of vintage cars owned by her family. Vidita Singh shares, “For me, automobiles have a soul and I try my best to bring that out in my artwork. Either in full or part, each car’s beauty lies not only in what the designer had conceptualised but also in the styling, the lines and curves of the cars, in the reflections off the chrome and the situation the car is found in. Nostalgia plays a big part in the artworks and I try to bring alive the beauty of each automobile in its heydays.”
One of her most avid collectors, Diljeet Titus adds, “I love the way cars on her canvas come alive. How she paints them in their geographic and social perspective.” A self-taught artist, Vidita has had the honour of being the only Indian and amongst the few women to exhibit her art at the prestigious Automotive Fine Arts Society Exhibition at Pebble Beach Concours, California in 2018.
Vidita feels a passionate need to preserve India’s automotive history and tradition, and she does this through her canvases. Bringing out the novelty automobiles had in the bygone era and the artistic and mechanical masterpieces they are today in her paintings is her passion.
Interested in art from an early age, her paintings based on cars hoisted her to the national stage after she completed college and finally immersed herself into painting. Vidita has managed to portray auto- mobiles, and the special relation automobiles had with India, in a manner that has now earned her international acclaim. Vidita has had solo exhibitions in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Hong Kong and has been part of several exhibitions including the Cartier Concours d’Elegance as well as the Pebble Beach Concours. Her work has been auctioned by Christie’s at the Royal Bridges art convergence held in Dubai. The artist is in- spired by the design elements of cars and by the stories of cars from the bygone era.
