Gelatin silver print
India, 2002
Nicholas Vreeland (b. 1954) – American photographer
‘His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Rato Dratsang’
Signed, titled and inscribed in pencil verso ‘Photos for Rato / His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Rato Dratsang / Nicholas Vreeland’
Numbered in pencil verso ‘13/25’
From ‘Photos for Rato’
Matted
Image dimensions: 13 7/8 x 14 in. (35.2 x 35.6 cm.)
Sheet dimensions: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 24 x 20 in. (61 x 50.8 cm.)
Very good condition

Buddhist monk and photographer Nicholas Vreeland first photographed the Dalai Lama in 1979 at the age of 25. This photograph is the second time he captured His Holiness on a visit to Rato Dratsang in 2002. In preparation for the portrait, Vreeland ha one wall of the temple whitewashed and spent a day checking the light and angle of the camera. Taken for Vreeland’s series, “Photos for Rato” which raised funds for the Rato Monastery in India, this beautifully reverent portrait captures the Dalai Lama’s warm spirit.

Executed in 2002, this gelatin silver print is signed, titled, inscribed and numbered thirteen from an edition of twenty-five. From the artist’s “Photos for Rato” series, this sheet measures 20 x 16 inches. Excellent, original condition.

Nicholas Vreeland (American, b. 1954)

The grandson of renowned fashion editor Diana Vreeland, Nicholas Vreeland became interested in photography at the age of 13, serving as an assistant to Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. On a photographic assignment to India in 1979, Vreeland met the Dalai Lama and was asked to photograph his first trip to North America. In 1985, Vreeland became a Buddhist monk and joined Rato Monastery, earning a Geshe degree – the equivalent of a PhD – in 1988. Vreeland founded “Photos for Rato,” a series of international fund-raisers to build the Rato Monastery in India, largely aided by the sale of his photographs. In 2012, the Dalai Lama appointed Vreeland as the new Abbot of Rato Monastery; this was the first time a Westerner has been appointed abbot of an important Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. Vreeland currently divides his time between New York and India.