Tibet in Pictures is the photographic record of expiditions to Central and Western Tibet undertaken by Li Gotami Govinda and her husband, Lama Anagarika Govinda, from 1947 to 1949. The photographs from this journey constitute a unique and significant contribution to the world's understanding of traditional Tibetan culture.

In addition to presenting the land and people of Tibet, they also preserve images of over fifty treasures of sacred art, most of which have never been previously photographed and are now largely lost to the world. Captions by Li Gotami and Lama Govinda provide a context for the photos, while a foreword by Tarthang Tulku and Lama Govinda's introduction further illuminate the symbolism of Buddhist sacred art.

Part 1 of Tibet in Pictures records the expedition to Central Tibet, depicting the geography, people, architecture, and the statues in temples along the route. Part 2 documents a pilgrimage to Tsaparang in Western Tibet. Here is the author's photographic masterpiece: sacred statues of a thousand-year-old culture that combines the almost abstract qualities of great sculpture with an intense spiritual wisdom.

The author, Li Gotami Govinda, was born in India and educated in England, France, and India. After studying photography (as well as art, ballet, and drama) for many years, in the late 1940s she travelled with her husband, Lama Anagarika Govinda, to Central and Western Tibet, where she made sketches, traced frescoes, and photographed the land and its people, documenting majestic temples and monasteries rich in sacred art, expressions of the beauty and power of fully awakened spiritual qualities.

"Few cultures have held as much fascination for Westerners as that of Tibet ... and few have been as poorly documented photographically. This striking collection ... [is] therefore especially welcome ... the photographs convey a vivid sense of the art, terrain, people, and way of life of Lamaistic Tibet." -- Jared Stephens, Asia Magazine