Professor Christopher Pinney is an anthropologist and art historian, and Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture at University College London. He is known for his studies on the visual culture of South Asia, specifically India. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of literature. He was born on March 1, 1959 in  Sri Lanka. His research interests cover the art and visual culture of South Asia, with a particular focus on the history of photography and chromolithography in India. He has also worked on industrial labor and Dalit goddess possession. Professor Pinney has worked and taught at many institutions such as Australian National University, University of Chicago, University of Cape Town, and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He works as Professor of Anthropology and Visual Culture at the University College, London and as the Crowe Visiting Professor of Art History at the Northwestern University. Christopher Pinney has published many books and Camera Indica: The Social Life of Indian Photographs, Photos of the Gods and The Coming of Photography in India are some of the notable ones.