Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bangalore

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath is a visual arts complex, with a college of fine arts on the premises, created with a motto to promote the art and culture by conducting various exhibitions in the state and also the National levels. In the early 1950s, a renowned Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich who used to reside in Bangalore, needed for a full fledged art institution. He discussed this with his industrialist friend H K Kejriwal and approached the then Chief Minister of the state. Their idea was accepted and the Government released a part of finance to construct this art complex.

This trust was formed in 1960 under the guidance of Svetoslav Roerich and Kejriwal, whose important trustees were SM Krishna, the then Minister of Industries in the Karnataka Government, Nagarathnamma, the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and the founder secretary Prof. M.S. Nanjunda Rao. The complex holds 18 galleries with 13 carrying permanent collections of art works and the balance rented out for exhibitions. The first and second galleries consist of the works done by Nicholas Roerich, a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, etc and his son, Dr.Svetoslav Roerich, who was a supporter of the development of Chitrakala Parishath. The galleries house nearly 100 paintings which were decided by the institution to keep them there permanently.

Mr. H.K.Kejriwal, art connoisseur and collector, donated an extensive number of works dating from the 1800s to the 1950s. There are 4 galleries dedicated to his name with around 250 paintings and around 60 sculptures. Coming from a family of scholars, Srikanta Shastry Kukke was one of the founders of the institution, who had dedicated 25 paintings and 3 sculptures to his name ‘Kukke Gallery’. Dr. Krishna Reddy was a printmaker and artist, and donated 34 prints and 2 sculptures to his name. There is a separated gallery in the name of Mysore Paintings, holding from the Vijayanagar empire times till Wodeyar rulers before India’s independence. The complex is a treat for art lovers.