Reena Ahluwalia’s Winston Red Diamond Painting Joins Smithsonian Collection

Canadian jewellery designer and visual artist Reena Ahluwalia has become the first contemporary artist to have a painting accessioned into the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Her artwork, The Legacy of The Winston Red Diamond, was formally accepted during a ceremony held on 6 May at the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals by Dr. Gabriela Farfan, Coralyn W. Whitney Curator of Gems and Minerals.
The painting centres on the 2.33-carat Winston Red Diamond, regarded as one of the world’s rarest diamonds. The Fancy red diamond is described as a one-in-25-million rarity and remains the only Fancy red diamond on public display. Ronald Winston donated the gem to the Smithsonian in 2023.
Ahluwalia’s work traces the diamond’s journey from its earlier identity as the “Raj Red” through its association with Digvijaysinhji, the Maharaja of Nawanagar, before eventually becoming the Winston Red. The composition also references the stone’s connection to Cartier and Ronald Winston’s acquisition of the gem in the late 1980s.
Ahluwalia said, “Art endures beyond its physical form as an idea whose meaning transcends time,” adding that the work aims to preserve the intangible heritage of the diamond for future generations.