“I remember landing at Safdarjung military airfield when I was the Official Tour Artist to TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales in 1992. On alighting from the Royal flight I spotted in the mid distance through the hazy morning light, the distinctive dome of Safdarjung’s Tomb. I now realise how important that first brief sighting was and how it informed the idea of the pictures I went on to paint directly from it some 8 years later.”

“Martin Yeoman is a traveller who is prepared to be changed by his experience, who is ready to take the risk self-questioning entails. He is an artist who has entered India with calm anticipation and a readiness to be enchanted and challenged by her ancient civilisation. In 1973 Yeoman traveller overland via Pakistan to India. The holy shrine at Amritsar made a lasting impression on the long man. It was here that he decided to become a painter. In 1986 Yeoman accompanied the Prince of Wales to the Middle East and in 1989 to the Far East. In 1992 he was invited to join the Prince and the Princess of Wales on their visits to India and Nepal. Naturally, the haste of the Royal Tours did not allow the kind of deep engagement with the county, which the artist wold have wanted. He felt the urge to go back to India. In 2001 and 2002 he had his wish flailed and was able to revisit some of the places he already knew, Agra, Delhi, Aligarh and Malabar. He travelled with a most congenial companion, the travel water Tim Mackintosh-Smith, whose knowledge and enthusiasm he shared. Returning to sites familiar to him from previous travels connected him even more intensely with the mysterious beauty of the Sub-continent, so redolent with history and living narratives. In 2003 the painter returned on his own.”