Featuring the work of Indian artists and commissioned by James Baillie Fraser and William Fraser between 1815 and 1820, the Fraser Album consists of over ninety watercolour paintings depicting the people of India and is considered a defining work of the Company School of painting.

The Fraser brothers were born in Inverness, Scotland. William Fraser began his career in 1799 as a trainee political officer with the British East India Company in Bengal. He was later posted to Delhi, first as assistant to the British Resident at Delhi and later, as the Commissioner of Delhi. In 1813, James Fraser arrived in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on a commercial venture and subsequently moved to Delhi in 1815. The same year, the brothers began commissioning local artists to paint portraits of locals in India, primarily the working classes, such as servants and traders, and military personnel employed by both the British and the Gurkhas. In 1816, James returned to Calcutta but continued his correspondence with William to commission more paintings; as a skilled painter himself, James saw the commercial potential of these scenes and portraits and hoped to generate an income through exhibiting, printing and selling them.

Commissioned over a period of five years, the album presents a wide range of people in Delhi, including portraits of the emperor and his court — attendants, dancing girls, musicians, merchants, mendicants and villagers. It also records the architectural landscape of the city in detail. Rural scenes from the time William spent in Hansi, Haryana, figure prominently in the album. Many of the portraits in Delhi, including commissions of Queen Victoria, were made by Ghulam Ali Khan and his circle. Other artists who enjoyed popularity among the British were Ghulam Hussain Khan, whose paintings were exhibited at the Punjab Exhibition in 1864, and Jivan Ram, who accompanied the then Governor-General of India to Rupur, Punjab, in 1831, where he made a portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.