India to open its first private single artist museum in artist Jamini Roy’s Kolkata house
If you are an artist practising in India, you must know about Jamini Roy, the famous 20th century Bengali painter and one of Abanindranath Tagore’s legendary pupils. Not many know, but he had a house in the Ballygunge Place area of Kolkata. Now, as per several reports, this 74-year-old house will be turned into a single-artist museum, the first such private venture in India.
Sources cite that the house has recently been acquired by a Mumbai-based art gallery called DAG and will not only be converted into a private museum but also a cultural resource centre on the life and works of the deceased artist. It will be called Jamini Roy House Museum in honour of the pioneering painter and will be open for all art connoisseurs across the nation. The project will be DAG's most important initiative in its 30 years history.
The house is already well-maintained by Jamini Roy’s descendants but still will need to be renovated by DAG to bring to life the artist’s workspace sentiments. The museum will be constructed across three floors spread across 7284 square feet, including a courtyard, an outhouse and terrace.
Galleries will also be made inside the rooms that will comprise of both permanent collection with famous artworks as well as rotating exhibitions. A library, a space for art workshops, a resource centre and a space reserved for events will also be developed. The premises will also have a gift shop and a café for the entertainment of tourists.
Originally built in 1949, the house was designed by the artist and his architect son Amiya Roy. Back then it was a single storied. However, new rooms and extra floors were later added as and when the family grew. Since then, the ground floor was used as a studio for both father and son, and was accessed by the main entrance. In contrast, there was a side gate to enter the private home space in the upper floors.
Long before his death in 1972, Roy made sure that his best works were exhibited in the larger rooms of his house, mostly hung on the wall, placed on the mantle or at wooden stools of different heights. In fact, some of the rooms were even named by him. For instance, there’s a Christ Room which has a series of Jesus’ paintings. Interestingly, notable personalities such as Indira Gandhi and Uday Shankar were regular at his house to meet him, observe his works and even buy his paintings.
For those unaware, Roy originally stayed at North Calcutta in the Baghbazar area. However, later he shifted to Ballygunge Place and lived there until his demise.
During his life, he was a celebrated artist and had received wide recognition starting with the Viceroy’s Gold Medal in 1935, Padma Bhushan in 1955 and was declared as a National Treasure in 1976. He was also an elected member of Lalit Kala Akademi since 1956.