National Gallery of Modern Art

This article is about the institution in India. For other uses, see National Gallery of Modern Art (disambiguation).

Three Girls, by Amrita Sher-Gil, 1935, now at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, where most of her works are displayed

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is the leading Indian art gallery. The main museum at New Delhi was established on March 29, 1954 by the Government of India, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bangalore. Its collection of more than 14,000 works includes artists such as Thomas Daniell, Raja Ravi Verma, Abanindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil as well as foreign artists, apart from sculptures by various artists. Some of the oldest works preserved here date back to 1857.^[1]

New Delhi

Situated at the end of Rajpath, facing the India Gate, the building was a former residential palace of the Maharaja of Jaipur, hence known as "Jaipur House". It was designed by Sir Arthur Bloomfield, after the construction of Lutyens' Delhi, in 1936.

Though the idea of the National Gallery was floated in 1949, it was formally inaugurated by Vice-president Dr S.Radhakrishnan in 1954, in the presence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Hermann Goetz (1898–1976),^[2] a noted German art historian became its first curator and in time it added new facilities such as Art restoration services, a Art reference Library and a Documentation Centre.^[3] Then in 2009, a new wing of the National Gallery of Modern Art was inaugurated adding almost six times the space to the existing gallery, plus it has a new auditorium, a preview theatre, conservation laboratory, library and academic section as well as a cafeteria and museum shop.^[1][4]

The first-ever exhibition of Anish Kapoor in India was held at the NGMA, New Delhi from November 2010 - February 2011, apart from being held at the Mehboob Studios, Mumbai from November 2010 – January 2011.^[5]

Mumbai

National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai

NGMA Mumbai was opened to the public in 1996. It hosts various exhibitions and art collections of famous artists, sculptors and civilisations. It is located near Regal Cinema in Colaba. Exhibits include:

• A collection of Pablo Picasso's works
• Egyptian artefacts such as mummies, statues, etc.

Bibliography: Ella Datta, Treasures of National Gallery of Modern Art.ISBN 978-81-88204-30-4.MAPIN(Ahmedabad)

Bangalore

A building in Bangalore was being refurbished in 2006 to open as the third site of NGMA. This follows a prolonged period of development and controversy.^[6]

In Bangalore , it is functional in Manickavelu mansion on Palace road, on a walkable distance from Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium.

At the moment NGMA houses approximately 500 exhibits that are spread across a corridor, tiny rooms and large spacious halls that span two floors. You need at least half a day to see the entire space. The exhibits have been displayed - classified into broad categories - according to different time periods, art schools and by artists. One can see paintings by Raja Ravi Verma, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, the Tagore brothers and Rabindranath Tagore and a large number of Modern and Contemporary artists.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} History NGMA website
2. ^ "About the Author". Bhartiya Vidhya Bhawan's University. http://www.bhavans.info/store/show_fortnight.asp?aid=8&id=10. 
3. ^ National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi Saatchi Gallery.
4. ^ New wing of National Gallery of Modern Art inaugurated The Hindu, January 19, 2009.
5. ^ "Dates Announced for First Ever Exhibition of Anish Kapoor in India". British Council. 4 November 2010. http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/press-office/press-releases/exhibition-anish-kapoor-india/. 
6. ^ Whose gallery is it, anyway?, The Hindu, Aug 18, 2002

National gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore has been opened for public on February 2009 by the Hon'ble Minister of Cultural Affairs, Ms. Ambika Soni.

External links

• National Gallery of Modern Arts, Official website