National Gallery of Modern Art

National Gallery of Modern Art Review

Facing India Gate, this neoclassical building was built by the British in the early 20th century as a palace for the maharaja of Jaipur. With its small dome and large, open rooms, the structure makes a fine space for this art museum, established in 1954 to preserve Indian art forms (mainly painting) that developed after 1850. The displays are attractive by local standards but distinctly uneven and unexplained. They also hold only a fraction of available works—thousands are in storage due to lack of gallery space. Highlights are the colorful paintings of Amrita Sher-Gil (the Frida Kahlo of India) and, upstairs, the myth-inspired works of Raja Ravi Varma and the Bengali Renaissance oils and watercolors of the Tagore family, Jamini Roy, and Nandalal Bose. There are a few representative works by contemporary masters such as M. F. Husain and Ganesh Pyne. Documentaries, shown daily at 11 and 3, explain Indian art.