Delhi

National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi tickets

The idea of a national art gallery took shape in 1938, when an artists’ organisation, the All India Fine Arts and Craft Society (AIFACS) first highlighted the need for an art institution in the cultural landscape of India. With the dawn of India as an independent nation, it became imperative that the artistic heritage of modern India be showcased at a distinguished platform of a national level. Subsequently at an art conference in Calcutta, organised by the Government of India in 1949, a resolution was passed for the setting up of a national art gallery. The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi was formally inaugurated by Vice President Dr S Radhakrishnan on March 29, 1954 under the patronage of the then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and bureaucrat Humayun Kabir. The stately Jaipur House which housed the headquarters of Lalit Kala Akademi was specially selected for unveiling the masterworks of modern Indian art. The inauguration was marked by an exhibition of sculptures curated by its first director, eminent art historian Herman Goetz who had previously served as the director of Baroda Museum. The exhibition was a huge success with the participation

Location

Delhi

Category

Museum and attraction