Black and white photographs of a mustached gentleman at the Irani-owned Brabourne restaurant and a traditionally clad Parsi outside the Zarthoshti Anjumanna Atash Behram at Dhobi Talao are among those on display at the exhibition "Foy Nissen’s Bombay,” at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery at the Prince of Wales Museum (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya). Open until June 16, 2019, the show represents over 50 years of the work by photographer Nissen (1931-2018), "who combined a keen sensibility with a quiet discipline,” according to the press note for the exhibition. Nissen starting photographing Bombay’s buildings, monuments, homes and people back in the 1960s. The write-up notes that his meticulous documentation provided the base for the city’s first list of heritage buildings, which then helped to develop legislation for preservation of Bombay’s heritage precincts. Nissen’s collection of gelatin prints, slides, negatives and photographs was bequeathed to the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation after he passed away.
Top and above: Foy Nissen’s images: "keen sensibility"
Photos: The Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation
"Recreating" Nissen’s world with a walk through his favorite haunts, with Dr Simin Patel (8th from r)
Photo: Bombaywalla Historical Works
The Gallery collaborated with Bombay historian Dr Simin Patel to conduct two walks on March 23 and April 6, titled "Foy’s Fort on Foot.” Participants were shown around some of Nissen’s favorite haunts – the Asiatic Society at the Town Hall, Flora Fountain, St Thomas Cathedral and the Army and Navy Building, followed by a curated walkthrough of the Gallery. Patel explained that "through the walk we recreate the world of Foy Nissen, city historian, pioneer conservationist and artist, who was one of the finest guides to our city and whose gifts in perpetuity continue to guide us through Bombay of the 70s and 80s.”