The Academy of Fine Arts, in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

(formerly Calcutta) is one of the oldest fine arts societies in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Entrance of Academy of Fine Arts Kolkata

History

The academy was formally established in 1933 by Lady Ranu Mukherjee. It was initially located in a room loaned by the

Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...

, and the annual exhibitions used to take place in the adjoining

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

. In the 1950s, thanks to the efforts of Lady Ranu Mookerjee and patronage by

Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician, educationist, and statesman who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 until his death in 1962. Roy played a key role in the founding of several institutio ...

, Chief Minister of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, as well as

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, the Prime Minister of India, the academy was shifted to a much larger space in the Cathedral Road, beside St. Paul's Cathedral, the present location. At present, Prasun Mukherjee is the chairman of board of trustees and Kallol Bose is the Jt. secretary of executive committee. There are some famous paintings here like ''

Saat Bhai Champa Saat Bhai Champa or Sat Bhai Chompa is a popular folk tale in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. The story was first officially published by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder in the book Thakurmar Jhuli in 1907. The intr ...

'' by

Gaganendranath Tagore Gaganendranath Tagore (17 September 1867 – 14 February 1938) was an Bengali painter and cartoonist of the Bengal school. Along with his brother Abanindranath Tagore, he was counted as one of the earliest modern artists in India. Life and car ...

, ''Shiva with Ganesh'' by

Jamini Roy Jamini Roy (Bengali: যামিনী রায়) (11 April 1887 – 24 April 1972) was an Indian painter. He was honoured by the Government of India the award of Padma Bhushan in 1954. He remains one of the most famous pupils of Abani ...

Theatre auditorium

There is a theatre auditorium in Academy of Fine Arts which is one of the most popular spots for performers and viewers of the city. Since 1984, an annual theatre festival is organised here.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 22.5429508, 88.3453662, display=title Culture of Kolkata Art museums and galleries in Kolkata Arts organisations based in India 1933 establishments in India 1933 in art Education in Kolkata Museums in Kolkata Theatres in Kolkata