Museums: Art & Culture for UPSC Exams

National Museum

Established : 15th August 1949, functioning as a Subordinate Office under Ministry of Cul- ture since 1960, formally inaugurated on 18 December 1960.

Location : In the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati

Bhawan, New Delhi.

Activities: Acquisition of art objects, their ex- hibition and conservation. Coordinates the

‘Festival of India’ in various countries. It has now 26 galleries with new addition of Bud- dhist Art gallery, Decorative Arts gallery, Jew- ellery Gallery,  anjore and Mysore School of Painting, Evolution of Indian Scripts and Coins Gallery etc.

Indian Museum

Established: 2nd February 1814, Location: Kolkata It is the ninth oldest regular museum of the world, a second oldest institution of its kind in the Asia Pacific Region and repository of the largest museum objects in India. It has more than 1 million exhibits having the rich- est collection on Art, Archeology, Anthropol- ogy, Geology, Zoology and Botany.

Allahabad Museum

Established : 1931 (declared as an institution of national importance by the Central Gov- ernment in 1985) It preserves and displays Historical Art and Archaeological objects like sculptures, paint- ing, rare coins of gold, silver, copper and lead. It also has paraphernalia and family heirlooms of the Nehrus, including manuscripts of ‘An Autobiography’ by Jawaharlal Nehru and a large volume of his correspondence.

?  National/Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology

The National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, New Delhi, an  autonomous organization fully funded by the Ministry of Culture was established and declared a Deemed University in 1989. This is the only Museum University in India and is presently functioning at the first floor of na- tional Museum, New Delhi.