EXPLORE INDIA: National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

Woman Holding a Fruit (19th century)
Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

Introduction

In the heart of India’s capital, where colonial grandeur meets the pulse of contemporary India, stands one of the country’s greatest treasures—the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi.

To step inside Jaipur House, where the gallery is housed, is to embark on a journey through time, emotion, and imagination. NGMA is not simply a museum; it is a dialogue between past and present, tradition and experimentation, and silence and expression.

Its walls preserve over a century and a half of Indian creativity, where canvases breathe life into forgotten moments, sculptures echo human struggle, and instruments whisper melodies of bygone days.

Unlike traditional museums where art is often presented in a detached, chronological sequence, NGMA unfolds like a storybook. The building itself is a story, the galleries are chapters, and each artwork is a verse within the greater poem of India’s modern identity. From the bold brushstrokes of Amrita Sher-Gil to the folk-inspired minimalism of Jamini Roy, from the anguished sculptures of Amarnath Sehgal to the delicate miniatures depicting royal pastimes, the gallery embraces both the ordinary rhythms of rural life and the extraordinary triumphs of human imagination.

This essay will narrate the layered world of NGMA—its architectural roots, the historical artifacts it safeguards, the types of paintings and instruments it exhibits, and detailed stories of at least five masterpieces that capture the spirit of India’s artistic evolution.

Types of Collections at NGMA

Stepping into NGMA is like wandering through a tapestry woven from diverse strands of creativity. Its collection, estimated at around 17,000 works, stretches across different mediums, eras, and sensibilities.

1. Paintings

Paintings form the soul of NGMA. From colonial-era realism to the folk-inspired Bengal School, from the progressive experiments of post-independence artists to contemporary abstraction, the gallery’s walls display an ever-evolving dialogue. Here one encounters the soft-toned portraits of Raja Ravi Varma, the dreamlike figuration of Amrita Sher-Gil, the spiritual geometry of S.H. Raza, the bold horses of M.F. Husain, and the meditative abstractions of V.S. Gaitonde. Each room unfolds a new aesthetic world.

Narratives of Five Masterpieces

Within NGMA’s vast collection, certain paintings rise like milestones, marking shifts in artistic language and cultural consciousness. Here are five of them, each described in about 100 words:

1. Sleep by Amrita Sher-Gil

This oil painting, created in 1933, portrays Amrita Sher-Gil’s younger sister Indira lying diagonally across a white sheet. Her eyes are closed, her arm resting above her head, embodying stillness yet intimacy. The embroidered dragon motif in the shawl beneath her introduces texture, guiding the viewer’s gaze across the composition. Sher-Gil’s brush combines sensuality with restraint, echoing European modernism while retaining an Indian sensibility. The painting whispers of vulnerability and closeness, but also of artistic confidence. Today, it remains one of NGMA’s crown jewels, epitomizing Sher-Gil’s role as the pioneer of Indian modernism.

Ancient Story Teller 1940 Saraya
Amrita Sher-Gil, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons {{PD-US}}
2. Ancient Story Teller by Amrita Sher-Gil

This canvas captures the timeless act of storytelling. At its center sits an aged woman, her face lined with wisdom, speaking to unseen listeners. The muted palette—browns, ochres, and earthy tones—conveys both humility and depth.

Sher-Gil’s brushwork is loose yet evocative, creating atmosphere rather than detail.

The subject is universal: a keeper of tradition, passing down knowledge orally, embodying continuity between generations.

With this painting, Sher-Gil bridges modernist style with folk life, turning an ordinary moment into a profound meditation on memory, voice, and heritage.

The Swing 1940 {{PD-US}}
Amrita Sher-Gil, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
3. The Swing by Amrita Sher-Gil

Painted in 1940, this work brims with a gentle energy. A young woman sits upon a swing, poised as if caught between movement and rest.

The surrounding tones are soft, almost pastel, evoking a sense of suspended time. Sher-Gil’s attention to the figure’s posture conveys both innocence and self-awareness.

Unlike many of her darker, introspective works, The Swing feels celebratory, capturing a fleeting joy common to rural India.

Yet the quiet melancholy of Sher-Gil’s palette ensures that the painting resonates on multiple levels—as nostalgia, as cultural observation, and as a personal confession of fleeting happiness.

Woman on Charpoy 1940 {{PD-US}}
Amrita Sher-Gil, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons
4. Woman on Charpoy by Amrita Sher-Gil

This 1940 painting portrays a woman reclining on a charpoy, the woven cot found in countless Indian homes.

The woman’s posture, both relaxed and weary, suggests the burdens of daily life and the solace of momentary rest.

Sher-Gil strips away excess detail, allowing the earthy palette and minimal lines to dominate.

The subject’s dignity is preserved, yet the raw honesty of the depiction leaves the viewer unsettled. By elevating a humble subject into fine art, Sher-Gil gave voice to India’s unsung women, embedding their quiet stories into the modern artistic canon.

5. Santhal Girl (Standing) by Jamini Roy

In stark contrast to Sher-Gil’s European-trained modernism, Jamini Roy embraced indigenous idioms. This painting of a Santhal woman, rendered in tempera against a yellow backdrop, exemplifies his style. Bold black outlines define her form, while flat areas of color lend simplicity and strength. The subject, a tribal woman, is elevated beyond ethnography into universal dignity. Roy’s departure from academic realism was a conscious nationalist choice, affirming India’s visual heritage at a time of colonial dominance. The Santhal Girl thus stands not just as a portrait, but as a manifesto of cultural pride, enshrined forever in NGMA.

2. Sculptures

The sculptural collection captures the struggles and aspirations of modern India. Ramkinkar Baij’s earthy dynamism, D.P. Roy Choudhury’s academic finesse, Meera Mukherjee’s textured bronze forms, and Amarnath Sehgal’s deeply emotive works add dimensionality to the gallery. These sculptures often stand like silent companions to the paintings, offering tactile expressions of the same emotions seen on canvas.

3. Photographs

The photography collection bridges art and history. Early works by Raja Deen Dayal preserve colonial India in sepia tones, while Raghu Rai’s vivid frames capture the modern nation’s complexities. Nemai Ghosh’s candid images of Satyajit Ray at work bring cinema into conversation with painting, while Dayanita Singh’s experimental photo-books expand photography into the realm of installation.

4. Miniatures and Traditional Works

Although NGMA’s focus is modern art, it also houses delicate collections of miniature paintings and traditional watercolors. These serve as the roots from which modern artists drew inspiration. Mughal emperors, Krishna legends, and pastoral scenes are captured in jewel-toned detail, reminding visitors that modernity often grows from tradition.

5. Historical Artifacts and Instruments

Beyond canvases and sculptures, NGMA also preserves historical objects and instruments. These include decorative artifacts from princely collections and musical instruments that highlight India’s deep connection between sound and visual art. Wooden carvings, textiles, and ceremonial items complement the artistic narrative. In recent years, NGMA also received the famed Maharaja Collection from Air India—an eclectic assembly of paintings, carvings, photographs, and collectibles that enriches its holdings further.

The Architecture and Origins of NGMA

The story of NGMA begins not with the stroke of a paintbrush but with the vision of Jaipur House, a princely mansion constructed in the late 1930s. Commissioned for the Maharaja of Jaipur, the residence was designed by the British architects Sir Arthur and Francis Blomfield. The house followed a butterfly plan, spreading gracefully across its grounds with two long wings extending out like open arms.

The exterior radiates Indo-Saracenic elegance, with sweeping colonnades, a central dome, and delicate Mughal and Rajput motifs etched into its red and buff sandstone. Wide steps lead to airy halls, once meant to welcome royal guests but now lined with canvases that chronicle India’s artistic awakening. Walking into Jaipur House feels like entering a palace that has been reborn into a cultural sanctuary.

In 1954, less than a decade after India’s independence, Jaipur House was chosen as the home for the newly conceived National Gallery of Modern Art. The decision was both symbolic and practical: symbolic because it represented the transformation of princely power into public cultural wealth, and practical because the sprawling mansion could accommodate exhibitions and storage for thousands of artworks.

The gallery was inaugurated by India’s then Vice President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, on March 29, 1954. Its founding director, Hermann Goetz, a German museologist, envisioned it as a dynamic institution that would showcase the trajectory of Indian modern art from the 1850s to the present. Over time, NGMA expanded beyond New Delhi, with branches in Mumbai and Bengaluru, but the Delhi gallery remains the beating heart of the institution.

Sculptural Echoes of Struggle and Hope

While paintings dominate NGMA’s collections, the sculptures add a visceral power. One cannot walk past Amarnath Sehgal’s bronze works without pausing. His Tyranny of Colonialism depicts chained figures writhing under oppression, their bodies twisted yet resilient. Anguished Cries is a chorus of despair cast in metal, a reminder of partition and its human cost. Yet in works like Flute Player, Sehgal reclaims hope, suggesting that art and music can heal trauma.

Other sculptors such as Ramkinkar Baij introduced raw dynamism, chiseling earthy figures that celebrate rural vigor. Meera Mukherjee infused her bronzes with textures reminiscent of tribal crafts, giving modern form to indigenous traditions. Together, these sculptures add dimension to NGMA’s narrative: that modern India’s art is not only about beauty but also about resilience and renewal.

Instruments and Decorative Artifacts

Though often overshadowed by paintings, NGMA’s collection of instruments and artifacts adds another layer to its identity. Traditional Indian instruments—flutes, veenas, tablas—appear in exhibitions that highlight the synergy of sound and image. A carved veena displayed beside a painting of a woman playing sitar creates a dialogue across mediums, showing how art forms inspire one another.

Equally striking are the decorative artifacts inherited from princely and corporate collections. Carved wooden panels, ceremonial textiles, and miniature thrones speak of vanished worlds, yet they enrich the modern gallery by reminding visitors that art cannot be separated from lived culture. The recent addition of the Air India Maharaja Collection—featuring paintings, sculptures, and exotic decorative pieces collected during the airline’s golden age—further expands NGMA’s reach into cultural eclecticism.

Photography as Visual Memory

The photography section at NGMA feels like stepping into a time machine. On one wall, sepia photographs by Raja Deen Dayal depict colonial rulers, Indian aristocrats, and landscapes, freezing a vanished India. On another, Raghu Rai’s color-drenched frames of bustling markets, monsoons, and protests show modern India in all its chaos and beauty. Nemai Ghosh’s intimate images of filmmaker Satyajit Ray at work blend cinema with visual art. Dayanita Singh’s experimental photo-books, arranged like architectural installations, invite visitors to see photography not as frozen documentation but as living, shifting memory.

Exhibitions and the Gallery Experience

NGMA is not a static repository. It is alive with exhibitions that recontextualize its collection. The blockbuster exhibition The Last Harvest, which showcased Rabindranath Tagore’s paintings on his 150th birth anniversary, traveled across continents, reminding the world of India’s multifaceted genius. Other exhibitions focus on movements such as the Progressive Artists’ Group, or themes like Gandhi in modern art, or explorations of abstraction in Indian painting.

Chole Bhature, a popular North Indian dish
পাপৰি বৰা, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Visitors often describe the experience as meditative. The airy galleries, high ceilings, and the hush of reverence create an atmosphere where time seems to pause.

Whether you are a student sketching a sculpture, a tourist marveling at Sher-Gil’s colors, or a connoisseur analyzing Gaitonde’s textures, NGMA welcomes all as participants in its ongoing dialogue. And do not miss the tastes of Chole Bhature, a popular North Indian dish, which will be easily available nearby.

Conclusion: A National Treasure Beyond Time

The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, is more than an art institution; it is a living diary of India’s journey into modernity. Its collections tell stories of joy and despair, of colonial encounters and nationalist assertions, of personal confessions and collective struggles. Within its walls, brushstrokes become voices, sculptures become protests, photographs become memories, and instruments become echoes of forgotten melodies.

To wander through NGMA is to encounter India not through dates and facts, but through emotions and imagination. It is where a sleeping figure painted by Amrita Sher-Gil converses silently with a Santhal woman painted by Jamini Roy; where a bronze sculpture of anguish meets the laughter of a photograph; where past and present fuse into timeless art.

For India and for the world, NGMA is not simply a gallery. It is a sanctuary of creativity, a celebration of human spirit, and an invitation to see, feel, and remember.

EXPLORE INDIA

Thursday, 4 September 2025

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi