Welcome to The Hartwick Collection.

This collection has its beginnings early in post-colonial India, when in the 1950s a young movie-loving boy in Bombay began collecting hand-painted Bollywood showcards advertising new films, regarded at the time as disposable. Piece by piece, he assembled a collection of Indian visual culture that traces cinematic and social histories of the first generation after independence. 

Nearly half a century later, I came across these showcards in a thriving bazaar in Bombay (now Mumbai) and was drawn to their beauty and importance.  Over several years, and countless hours of learning about Bollywood and its far-reaching and enduring cultural influence, I collected over 200 rare pieces of cinematic history, in what would become one of the world’s most acclaimed collections of Indian film art. 

The collection features Bollywood icons and award-winning films, with highlights including original showcards from Mera Naam Joker, Raj Kapoor’s masterpiece and winner of five Filmfare Awards in 1970, as well as the award-winning films Aarti (starring Meena Kumari), Kala Bazaar (starring Dev Anand), and the critically acclaimed 1977 film Swami (starring Shabana Azmi), winner of 3 Filmfare Awards that year.

While driven by love of these works, we also began this collection with the aim to share its stories globally, resulting initially in the exhibition and catalogue Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2011. More than a decade later, these showcards seem to have even more to say about universal themes of love, life, war, mythology, and the everyday, while simultaneously reflecting a catalytic period in modern Indian history. 

We invite you to take a moment to journey through cinema, art and history.  Enjoy!

Angela Hartwick