Sree Chitra Art Gallery

Sree Chitra Art Gallery is an art gallery in Thiruvananthapuram established in 1935 and located in the northern grounds of the Napier Museum. It features a unique collection of approximately 1,100 traditional and contemporary paintings, including works by Raja Ravi Varma, Nicholas Roerich, Svetoslav Roerich, Jamini Roy, and Rabindranath Tagore. The gallery showcases Indian art schools such as Mughal, Rajput, Bengal, and Tanjore, along with oriental collections from China, Japan, and Tibet.

Visitors can explore a diverse collection of over 1,100 paintings spanning various Indian and international art traditions. The gallery houses significant works by Raja Ravi Varma, including rare pencil sketches and oil paintings, as well as pieces from the Roerich family depicting Himalayan landscapes. Visitors will encounter artworks from Mughal, Rajput, Bengal, Rajasthani, and Tanjore schools, alongside Chinese, Japanese, Balinese, and Tibetan paintings. The gallery also displays reproductions of ancient murals from Ajanta, Bagh, Sigiriya, and Sittannavasal, along with archival manuscripts and miniatures.

Established in 1935 by Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last ruling Maharaja of Travancore. The gallery was inaugurated by the Maharaja who appointed Dr. J. H. Cousins as the first Art Advisor to Government. A large portion of the collection was gifted by the Royal House of Travancore and the Kilimanoor Royal Family. The Raja Ravi Varma paintings were given to the gallery by Kilimanoor Palace as a permanent loan in 1941.

The gallery preserves and showcases the rich artistic heritage of Kerala and India, housing masterpieces by renowned artists like Raja Ravi Varma who pioneered the fusion of European oil painting techniques with Indian themes. It serves as a repository for diverse Indian art schools and international collections, representing centuries of artistic tradition from pre-historic mural paintings to modern contemporary works.