What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum

Name: Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum
Address: Lalbaug, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad, 380004, IN
Telephone: 07922865456

Home
India
Ahmedabad
Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum

Call Directions Website Contact the museum

The Museum campus houses the heritage building with a thousand years of Indian art, the Indigo Art Museum and Modern galleries for art exhibitions.

Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum is housed in a colonial building showcasing over a thousand years of Indian art.The Claude Batley house, a space for exhibiting Modern and Contemporary art

11/10/2026

We were delighted to welcome a group of hearing-impaired visitors to the museum for an engaging visit exploring art, architecture, and heritage.

We believe museums are spaces for everyone to experience, appreciate, and connect with our shared cultural heritage.

Our heartfelt thanks to Namra Shah for his valuable support as an interpreter, helping make the visit more accessible and meaningful.

09/10/2026

Nandalal Bose's understanding of Indian art continued to evolve beyond the revivalist concerns of the early Bengal School. His practice gradually moved from the wash technique towards tempera, flatter areas of colour and a more expressive use of line. His approach to subject matter changed as well. He came to see divinity not only in the image of the gods but also in the natural world and everyday life. He painted these subjects more and more as the years went by. Nandalal believed that an artist needed to find a dynamic relationship between nature, tradition and individual expression and this philosophy extended beyond the studio into his teaching and mural practice.

In the 1930s, Gandhiji invited Nandalal Bose to organise art exhibitions for the Indian National Congress at Lucknow and Faizpur. At Faizpur, Nandalal worked with local materials and craftspeople to create an exhibition suited to its rural setting. This experience led to the Haripura Posters of 1938, made by Nandalal Bose for the Congress session at Haripura, Gujarat, in which he depicted village musicians, artisans, workers, animals and everyday life in simplified forms and bold, flat colours. Designed as temporary decorations for the village setting, the posters brought art into direct contact with a large public and reflected his growing belief that art could be part of lived, collective experience.

For this post, we share with you this beautiful work showcasing apsaras and gandharvas from the museum collection. The celestial beings of Swarg are seen among soft grey clouds. Notice the flat red ground, diagonal lines and visible outlines of the figures characteristic of his later explorations.

Nandalal Bose, Gandharvas and Apsaras
Watercolour on wasli, early 20th century
240 × 335 mm

06/10/2026

With the establishment of Visva-Bharati and Nandalal Bose's return to Santiniketan, Kala Bhavana began to develop a distinctive approach to art education. Rabindranath Tagore envisioned Santiniketan as a space for creative and cultural exchange, and this environment facilitated a rich exchange of ideas and artistic practices. Nandalal encouraged students to observe and learn from nature and everyday life, moving beyond the studio-based and model-based methods of conventional art education. He also introduced mural painting into the teaching programme, and made it a collective practice involving teachers and students.

Through festivals, theatre, book illustration and collaborations with weaving, pottery and leather-craft workshops, Nandalal helped bring art and craft into everyday life at Santiniketan. His teaching encouraged students to become versatile artists, engaging with different materials, traditions and ways of seeing.

This painting, ‘Daakghar (Post Office)’ - from the collection, also reflects Nandalal's engagement with the intersection of literature, theatre and visual art. The work takes its title from Rabindranath Tagore's 1912 play Daakghar, and the artwork can be seen as reflecting the ways in which art and performance can come together.

Nandalal Bose, Daakghar (Post Office) - a detail
Watercolour and gold leaf spray on vasli, early 20th century
115 × 195 mm
From the museum collection

02/10/2026

While deeply influenced by his teacher Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose's artistic journey was shaped by his encounters with the many traditions of Indian and Asian art. His travels exposed him to the murals of Ajanta, as well as popular practices such as kolam in South India and local pat painting. He experimented with these traditions in his own practice, even becoming interested in mural art and exploring ways of bringing art to a wider public. His encounters with Chinese and Japanese art further expanded his understanding of the ways in which tradition and artistic individuality could be brought together. From these diverse encounters, Nandalal gradually developed an eclectic artistic vocabulary, bringing together influences from different traditions rather than remaining confined to a single historical style. This eclecticism also expanded the horizons of artistic expression within the Bengal School.

His association with Abanindranath also continued beyond his formal training. He worked at Jorasanko, taught informal classes at the Vichitra Sabha, and later taught courses run by the Indian Society of Oriental Art. Meanwhile, Rabindranath Tagore was keen to bring Nandalal to Santiniketan, recognising the possibilities of his work as both artist and teacher. Nandalal eventually moved to Santiniketan and took charge of Kala Bhavana, where these diverse influences would come together and inform his evolving approach to art and education.

In Dronacharya Training the Princes, this painting from the museum collection, we can see some of the influences coming together through Nandalal’s use of line, opacity and a restrained palette, reflecting his evolving visual language.

Nandalal Bose,
Dronacharya Training the Princes,
Watercolour on paper, early 20th century,
205 × 300 mm.
From the museum collection.

29/09/2026

We come back to our Bengal School series with a focus on Nandalal Bose, an artist significantly represented in the museum’s collection. Bose studied under Abanindranath Tagore at the Government Art School in Calcutta and became closely associated with the movement and the Tagore family, later developing a significant association with Rabindranath Tagore. His early practice drew on Indian literary and mythological traditions, while developing a distinctive sensitivity to line, colour and atmosphere. In this series, we will trace the unique artistic trajectory of one of the most important figures of the school, featuring some of his works.

Grief of Shiva from the collection depicts Shiva seated with the lifeless Sati resting in his lap. Set against a quiet, muted background, the intimate composition conveys this moment of grief and stillness.

Nandalal Bose, Grief of Shiva
Watercolour on vasli, early 20th century
From the museum collection

25/09/2026

It is always a pleasure to welcome students and young practitioners from the fields of art, architecture, planning, and design to the museum.

We recently welcomed the CEPT Sketching Club, who spent time exploring the museum’s architecture, heritage spaces, and surroundings through observation and sketching.

Their drawings offer a wonderful glimpse into the ways in which architecture can be experienced, studied, and interpreted through the act of looking closely.

We look forward to welcoming more students and creative communities to the museum.

23/09/2026

It was a pleasure to host the India Art Fair team, special guests, and registered visitors during the recent India Art Fair editions in Ahmedabad.

We’re pleased to share a few glimpses from these visits. Seen here is our Trustee, Mrs. Jayshree Lalbhai, leading guests through the Heritage Section and the Indigo Art Museum, while Kavin Mehta, Creative Director, introduces visitors to the traditional dyeing process and speaks about the works in the collection.

It was a delight to be part of the India Art Fair editions in Ahmedabad and to welcome visitors from across the country and beyond. We look forward to opening our doors to many more visitors and continuing to share our collection, exhibitions, and the stories they hold with audiences from around the world.

16/09/2026

We had the pleasure of hosting three distinguished figures from the world of museums and art: Dr. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director General of CSMVS, Mumbai; Neil MacGregor, former Director of the National Gallery, London and the British Museum; and Mahrukh Tarapor, international museum professional and former Associate Director for Exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Their visit offered an enriching opportunity to engage with the museum’s collection and its history. We are delighted to share a few glimpses from their visit. Our Trustee, Mrs. Jayshree Lalbhai, led the visitors through the museum’s galleries, sharing insights into the collection.

15/09/2026

As our final post on the artist Mukul Dey, we examine his contribution as a principal and educator. In 1928, Mukul Dey became the first Indian Principal of the Government School of Art, Kolkata, a position he held until 1943. His appointment marked an important moment in the history of the institution and in the development of fine-art printmaking in India. Having trained in India, Japan, America and Britain, Dey brought a wide range of artistic experience to his role as an educator. During his principalship, he actively promoted printmaking and encouraged greater engagement with Indian subjects, people and cultural traditions.

This focus was also central to his own practice, as we saw in our previous post. Through his work and teaching, Dey contributed to the growing search for an artistic language that could engage with the realities and cultural heritage of modern India.

Seen here is Portrait of Rabindra Nath Tagore, a drypoint etching by Mukul Dey, from the museum’s collection.

13/09/2026

It was a pleasure to welcome members of the Asia Society, India Centre to the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum, hosted by our trustee Mrs. Jayshree Lalbhai.

Sharing with you glimpses from the walkthrough, where we had the opportunity to share the museum’s art, culture and legacy with the esteemed members of the society. The visit brought together conversations around India’s diverse artistic traditions, creating a space for meaningful exchange and appreciation of the stories held within the collection. Such exchanges are especially meaningful in building greater understanding of India’s rich heritage and its place within the wider Asian cultural landscape.

We were delighted to share the museum’s spaces and collections with the members of the Asia Society India Centre and to be part of this enriching cultural exchange.

Address

Lalbaug, Shahibaug
Ahmedabad
380004

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

07922865456

Website

http://www.kasturbhailalbhaimuseum.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum: