National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai

The idea behind the establishment of National Gallery of Modern Art in different parts of the country was the preservation and encouragement of higher studies and research in the field of modern art. It also aimed at capturing the changing trends in the art worldwide, from ancient art to the contemporary art. This intriguing initiative was fostered in 1941 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad, Humayun Kabir along with the Indian art community. The inauguration of the first NGMA Gallery took place in New Delhi on 29th March 1954 by then Vice President, S.Radhakrishnan in the presence of eminent sculptors such as Sankho Chaudhuri, Sarbari Roy Chowdhury and Debi Prasad. It was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield and was inspired by the concept of the Central Hexagon. Later, NGMA expanded its reach by inaugurating its subsequent branches in Mumbai and Bangalore. The location of each of these was meticulously chosen to lure maximum people.

The National Gallery of Modern Art was initially known as the Sir C. J Hall, where in the early sixties it used to be a concert venue and later a place for trade unions, boxing matches, and wedding receptions. The hall was inaugurated with grand celebrations and an exhibition of masterpieces from Progressive Artists' Group. Protests by eminent artists such as Piloo Pochkhanawala and Kekoo Gandhy led to the successful introduction of floor space similar to London's Royal Albert Hall. The gallery could boast of its newly acquired exhibition space, only after 12 years of renovation. The very moment it was opened for public gaze in 1996, it gained loads of affection from different artist communities.

The structure has a total of five exhibition galleries, library, cafeteria, lecture auditorium and storage and office space for permanent collection and travelling shows. The Gallery showcases amazing works of art dating back to hundred years. These are present in the form of both Visual and Plastic Arts.

The Gallery of Modern Art has a phenomenal collection of modern and contemporary art. Below are the names of some famous artists whose work has been displayed at the gallery.

Water Color on Canvas
The place has paintings by Ambadas, S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza, and Gaganen K.H Ara

Oil on Canvas
It is a home to great artistic works by Laxman Shrestha, Shankar Palsikar, Akbar Padamsee, M.F. Husain, Shivax Chavda, and K.K. Hebbar

The Mumbai branch of NGMA exhibits around 14000 artworks of eminent national and international personalities such as Pablo Picasso, Thomas Daniel, F.N Souza, M.F Hussain, Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ravi Verma, Nandalal Bose, Amrita Shergill, Jamani Roy and many more. Some of the famous artworks present here are, Paintings by 'Calcutta Group' reflecting the terrible famine of 1943, Extraordinary European style works by Amrita Sher-Gil, 'Blue Lake' by Prabhakar Barwe, Artworks by 'Young Turks Group', Collection of abstract art by Krishen Khanna, Jehangir Sabavala, Eric Bowen and others showing the diverse use of colors, forms and textures. The Sculpture collection by famous sculptors such as Ramkinkar Baij,Dhanraj Bhagat, Meera Mukherjee, Pradosh Dasgupta and many more is equally intriguing.

With the impressive cultural exchange programs and art exhibitions that NGMA Mumbai has hosted, it has indeed proved that talent has no boundaries. Over the years, it has provided an impressive platform for both the artists as well as the art lovers. Some of the significantly successful exhibitions that NGMA has hosted in the past are, Ideas and images VI- The art in Mumbai, Video sculpture in Germany, The photograph: Painted, posed and of the moment etc.

The gallery is easily accessible by taxis and buses from any part of the city. The nearest railway stations are CST (Central Railway) and Churchgate (Western Railway). From here one can hire a taxi or take a bus to reach there.

Buses operating from CST: 14, 69, 101, 130
Buses operating from Churchgate: 70, 106, 122, 123, 132, 137