NGMA to host Maharaja’s Treasure

Maharaja’s Treasure, select works of art from the famed Air India collection will be held at at the Nation Gallery of Modern Art at Fort, Mumbai, from April 27 to July 2, 2023.

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), will be holding Maharaja’s Treasure, select works of art from the famed Air India collection-an exhibition from April 27 to July 2, 2023 at the Nation Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai. The exhibition will be inaugurated in the presence of Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and DoNER (Development of North-Eastern Region), G. Kishan Reddy.

Over the period of eighty years, Air India put together an impressive art collection to showcase and celebrate Indian art and culture across the globe. This collection comprises paintings and sculptures by famous artists like V. S. Gaitonde, B Prabha, M. F. Husain, G. R. Santosh, K. H. Ara, Pilloo Pochkhanawala, Raghav Kaneria, to name a few, traditional paintings such as Phad and Pichwai paintings of Rajasthan, Kalamkaris from Andhra Pradesh, Thanjavur gilded and glass paintings to an exquisite array of textiles, jewellery, and decorative art spread across the subcontinent. 

The exhibition begins with a glimpse of a few iconic works from the collection by masters such as K. H. Ara, V. S. Gaitonde, N. S. Bendre, G. R. Santosh, Manu Parekh, B Prabha, M. F. Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, and B Vithal. An untitled canvas by V. S. Gaitonde from 1970, stands prominent while the highlight of this section is the famous ashtray designed by surrealist Salvadore Dali. When Salvador Dali made this ordered painting for Air India, he reportedly demanded a real Elephant instead of money as his fees. And Air India went on to fulfil his demand by gifting him a real Elephant and sent the Elephant along with a Mahout to Spain. 

Arpana Caur’s canvas depicting a woman with a blue crescent moon on her head is part of a larger composition titled, ‘Women Hold up Half the Sky’, showing women in construction sites, where the heavy vessel on her head takes the shape of the moon. Shanti Dave’s painting is an extension of the same theme. The section also dedicates a corner to the fisherwomen painted by B Prabha and A. A. Raiba.

In January this year, the entire collection of Air India handed over to NGMA, through a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministries of Culture and Civil Aviation for posterity. An exhibition at NGMA, Mumbai is part of it, after NGMA became the sole custodian of this collection. Air India encouraged and purchased paintings and sculptures of the then many budding artists for a few thousand rupees. The same collection and artists later became renowned figures in the Art circle increasing the cost of their works to hundreds of crores. Art lovers should visit this exhibition. 

The exhibition starts on 27 April 2023 and ends on 2 July 2023. 

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