Listicle: 10 artworks, old and new, to celebrate Friendship Day

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

Shakuntala and her friends. Who among us hasn't helped a friend compose the perfect Miss You text to bae? Raja Ravi Varma's lithograph depicts a moment in Kalidas's epic, when Shakuntala in her hermitage is writing a love letter to King Dushyant with help from besties Priyamvada and Anasuya. Painted in 1876. Relatable every day. Raja Ravi Varma's lithograph depicts Shakuntala with her besties Priyamvada and Anasuya.
In this MV Dhurandhar painting, six Bombay women gather for a bit of chit-chat.
Indian women on a 1905 postcard. MV Dhurandhar's paintings of everyday women of more than a century ago are legendary. He sent this postcard to his art teacher E Greenwood, who'd retired and was living in England. Friendship, fashion, freedom seem to come alive in the work as six Bombay women gather for a bit of chit-chat. They're stylish –nine-yard saris, European-style blouses, pearls, flowers in their hair. And seems like someone's got the tea!
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle's 1753 statue depicts France's King Louis XV's former mistress-turned-confidante.
Madame de Pompadour as Friendship. Friends-to-lovers is a popular trope. But Jean-Baptiste Pigalle's 1753 statue goes for the opposite. It depicts the woman who started out as official mistress to France's King Louis XV (and the Queen's social rival) but ended up as his bestie, confidante, advisor and a court favourite. No fuss, no frills, no costumery. The figure is simply dressed, portraying her not as lover or style icon, but as a platonic friend.
In 1927, Japan and the US exchanged more than 12,000 Friendship Dolls.
Friendship Dolls from Japan and the US. In 1927, amid deteriorating relations, the nations exchanged more than 12,000 blue-eyed US Friendship Dolls and 58 handcrafted Torei Ningyo. The dolls were meant to encourage children to cultivate cross-country friendships. Adults, as usual, ruined everything. Most American dolls in Japan were destroyed in the Second World War. In the US, only a handful of the Japanese ones survive. All are preserved in museums.
Grace Kelly and Maria Callas feature in sculptor Marcos Marin's 2023 work.
Grace Kelly and Maria Callas. One is a film icon who married Prince Rainier of Monaco. The other is a renowned opera diva. Both knew what it cost to devote one's life to art. Both knew what it felt like to have their every move tracked by the public. They were friends for years. Sculptor Marcos Marin's 2023 work, at Greece's Megaro Musikis Concert Hall, is subtitled Eternal Friendship and celebrates the women's closeness and ambitions.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy have been friends for more than 90 years.
Art of Disney: Friendship. Of course, we'd include Mickey, Donald and Goofy – the three have been friends for more than 90 years. The gang was featured in a 2004 friendship-themed stamp series issued by the US postal service. Other Disney buddies on the stamp sheet: Bambi and Thumper, Mufasa and Simba, and Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio. Disney memorabilia fetches millions at auction. This stamp costs just 37 cents.
Swedish artist Sebastian Straube painted a young boy and girl feeding their goat in 1842.
The Three Friends. Swedish artist Sebastian Straube painted a young boy and girl feeding their goat in 1842. But in 2025, when we have furbabies and vacation with our dogs and cats, the title seems fitting. The humans might be siblings. But in Straube's oil-on-canvas they're all just friends, caught in a playful moment – a nod to the millions of throwaway moments that define most friendships.
This USSR propaganda poster from 1962 celebrated global allies.
Friendship Peace poster. What use is your crew if you can't gang up against the world? While most propaganda posters within Communist USSR championed athletics, farming, science and the might of the state, the ones circulated abroad (like this one from 1962) celebrated global allies. This one marks the comradeship between USSR and China and lets socialist India join in too. The diplomatic friendship held on for decades.
Australian artist Stella Bowen painted her own friends having a leisurely lunchtime gabfest.
Provençal Conversation. Australian artist Stella Bowen painted this oil-on-canvas in 1936. It features her own friends having a leisurely lunchtime gabfest at Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. But really, it could be a gang of four anywhere, leaning back, unbothered, their guard down in a safe space of their own making. A sign, perhaps, for friends today to meet IRL more often, get lunch outdoors, linger and put their phones down.
This 1857 triptych woodblock by Japanese artist Utagawa Kunisada turns a naughty moment into art.
Ashikaga Mitsuuji Peeping at Courtesans. Best friends go all in. They'll help you bury the body, they'll join in when you're up to no good. This 1857 triptych woodblock by Japanese artist Utagawa Kunisada turns a naughty moment into art. One man keeps watch as his friend eavesdrops on the chatter of courtesans. It's two friendships in play – the private world of women, the men colluding to peek in. Almost 170 years on, nothing's changed.
From HT Brunch, August 02, 2025
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