Museums In India

National Gallery Of Modern Art

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi,  was founded in 1954 and housed at Jaipur House situated very close to India Gate in Rajpath. There are two other NGMAs in the country, one at Mumbai and the other at Bangalore.

History

The cocept of National Gallery got germinated as early as1949, however the Government of India launched it only in 1954. Inauguration of this museum was done by  Dr S.Radhakrishnan, who was Vice President of India then, in the presence of Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then PM.  The famous German Art Historian Hermann Goetz (1898–1976), became its first curator, who added facilities like Art reference Library,  Art restoration services, Documentation Centre  in later times.

In the year 2009,  another wing to the National Gallery for Modern Art was added with space as much as  six times of the existing gallery, besides an auditorium, conservation laboratory, a preview theatre, an academic section and library.  A cafeteria , besides a museum shop was also introduced.

Collections

The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi has in its collections some of the best modern art paintings created since 1857, with a collection of around 17,000 pieces. The art work collections maintained there are some of the most intriguing and made out by talented personalities, which would captivate one’s eye with inexplicable amazement.
These collections include the works of artists such as Raja Ravi Verma,Rabindranath Tagore, Thomas Daniell, Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore, JaminiRoy,Nandalal Bose, Amrita Sher-Gil as well as many foreign artists, besides the works of famous sculptors.

The NGMA is an enthralling and a charming house for all art lovers in the city. It is really one of the must visit venues in New Delhi.

Exhibitions

At the time of  inauguration of NGMA  it made a wonderful beginning with an exhibition of sculptures. The works of the most prominent sculptors of the time, including Debi Prasad Roy Chowdhury,Sarbari Roy Chowdhury, SankhoChaudhuri, RamkinkarBaij, DhanrajBhagatand others were displayed.

The grass-lawn at the entrance of the art gallery is accomplished by an exquisite collection of sculptures installed sequentially, apart from wonderfulpiecesexhibited  within the gallery which are the richest collections in the country. While some of these pieces of artare  in the form of wood carvings, few are made out of metal work and the rest forming  sculptures.

To quote a few of the sculptures expressing contemporary art form, there are contributions by SankhoChaudhari, JagdishSwaminathanandRamkinkarBaij, reflecting  the history of this country claiming a respectable heritage.

Apart from these wonderful sculptures, NGMA houses arare collection of paintings by some of the most celebrated painters of India, both classical and contemporary. The art pieces include those belonging to the unique genres of Tanjore, Kalighat, realism, abstract,

Timings and Ticket Prices

The National Art Gallery is open for public Tuesday through Sunday, between 10 am and 5 pm. The Gallery is closed on Mondays and National Holidays.

Entrance is Free.

Facilities

It may take 4 to 5 hours for anyone to go through the exhibits of the Gallery. NGMA admits students at a nominal fee of Re 1 to encourage them to involve in modern Arts. The children can be left in the neighbouring Children’s Park under care for elders to tour the galleries peacefully.

Whether one visits the gallery alone or with company, it will be a delightful experience for everyone interested in art.

How to Reach

National Art Gallery  is situated closer to India Gate in the City of Delhi, which can be reached by public transport, auto-rickshaw and Metro. Delhi is well connected with the rest of the part of the country by air, rail and road, Indira Gandhi International airport having daily schedules of flights to various destinations in India and abroad. Likewise, New Delhi railway station has fast moving trains, such as Rajdhani express trains and Shadapti Express trains to most of the state capitals, while North Delhi station connects all the destinations around Himachal Pradesh and Northern states.

Delhi is also well connected by road, with its National Highways connecting all important cities upto the extreme end of the country in the south.

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