A step into the past at National Art Gallery in Museum complex

Discover the vibrant National Art Gallery in Chennai, showcasing iconic artwork and historical treasures in a restored Indo-Saracenic building.

On a rather humid Monday morning, you would expect the typical starting of the work-week blues on many faces, but not at the National Art Gallery which is full of life.

Surrounding its pink sandstone are students and families, snapping perfect selfies with the building and making reels, almost a third space that Chennai truly celebrates.

After more than a decade of restoration executed by the Public Works Department, the National Art Gallery, situated in the Government Museum Complex, was reopened in February 2024.

Fast forward to 2025, and it has already become the spot to be — whether you are an architecture lover or fine arts student or a history buff or another curious tourist. This Indo-Saracenic architecture, inspired by the Jaipur-Mughal style, draws you in, and the walls are lined with iconic artwork that is a feast for the eyes.

When the National Art Gallery was restored and conserved, the flooring was replaced, the damaged roof was removed, the lime brick concrete was relaid even while its historical essence was kept intact. On the walls of the gallery, also known as Victoria Hall, you will find the original works of esteemed artists, including Raja Ravi Varma’s famous oil on canvas pieces.

There are also Rajput paintings in which artists have used the application of opaque water colour on paper, Ragamala paintings, which are a set of illustrative paintings of the Ragamala classical music, Mughal, Tanjore, and Mysore paintings, sandalwood artefacts, ivory objects, and miniature artefacts. The gallery also exhibits individual paintings from artists K.S. Rao, D.P. Roy Chowdury, and others, giving a glimpse of varied art styles and old schools of art.

“Though I am a resident of Chennai, this is the first time I am entering the National Art Gallery, and I am stunned by Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings. There is so much beauty and strength which he has captured through his portraits of women,” says Anakha R., a law student who also visits Connemara Public Library in the Museum Complex.