This gallery is located at Rabindra Bhawan, Ferozshah road, New Delhi and has regional centres at Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Kolkata, Garhi (Delhi),  Shimla and Lucknow. Also known as the National academy of arts this gallery was established by the government of India to foster and spread the growth of art at both national and international level. The Union Ministry of Culture provides the fund for this gallery. The National Exhibition of Art which started in the year 1955 is the famous annual event of this academy. It showcases the advancements and changes made in the field of visual arts every year. The gallery has participated in Exhibition of Graphic Art in Paris Biennale, Biennale of Sao Paulo, Ljubljana (Yugoslavia), Tokyo Biennale, Biennale de Venezia, Biennale of Graphic Art Florence and many more. The gallery sends its exhibits to many countries like Bangladesh, Seychelles, and Mauritius etc. The recent exhibition in the gallery is the ongoing ‘Forms of Devotion’ by Ms. Sushma Behl. Apart from hosting exhibitions it has a library, art collections, and conservation laboratory and promotes scholars of merit across the country.

History

The gallery was established on 5th August, 1954 by the Government of India by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who was the Minister for Education during that time. It is an autonomous body which apart from hosting exhibitions aims at preserving art, promoting it and nurturing it. It also provides aids to artists and art institutions with the help of grants and scholarships. The first International exhibition on Canadian paintings was held by the gallery in 1955. Later, this exhibition was also held at Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. By 1965 the gallery began exhibiting photographs, sculptures, architecture along with paintings from all over the world. The gallery exhibited 61 graphic prints from louvre and an UNESCO exhibit of paintings on psychological research on Fine Arts by Steven Doma in 1987. The year 1988 was remarkable in terms of hosting the works of many international names like Marc Ribound, George William Myeyone, Max Klinger and many others. In 1992 the gallery exhibited the prints of Van Gogh’s works. By 2009 the gallery displayed Mexican paintings which dealt with Expressionism, Surrealism, and geometric abstractions. The gallery has been sending its exhibits to countries like Seychelles, Mauritius, and Bangladesh etc. The gallery has also been showcasing Indian art forms of both contemporary and traditional nature.

Aims and Objectives

• To foster the growth of both study and research in the fields of arts.
• To encourage the creative art form through aids like scholarships and grants.
• To promote art at both national and international level and foster cultural exchanges between countries.
• To promote art across the country through the establishment of Regional centres.
• To promote the publication of art through journals etc.

Collections

The gallery boasts of a summarized collection of Indian art history over a period of sixty years. It also contains the works of famous artists like M.F.Hussain, G. R. Santosh, F. N. Souza, Dhanraj Bhagat and many others.

How to Reach

It is located at Rabindra Bhawan, Ferozeshah Rd, New delhi. The nearest metro station is Rajiv Chowk. It can be reached by buses, autos and other forms of transport.