Bengaluru: The Kolkata-based Virasat Art, in association with the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat Bengaluru, has organised an exhibition titled 'Hindustan Files: 1757-1950'. It is a research-driven exhibition that delves into India's layered histories through archival fragments, forgotten correspondences, and visual documents.
Currently on in the four galleries: The exhibition is currently on in the four galleries, 1-4 of the Chitrakala Parishat, from 14th November to 23 November.
Dedicated to preserving artefacts and publications: Virasat Art, based in Kolkata, an archive dedicated to preserving artefacts and publications that document India’s history and heritage, is organising an exhibition titled “Hindustan Files: 1757–1950” at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru. The exhibition is being held with the support of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.
A research-driven exhibition: Hindustan Files is a research-driven exhibition that delves into India’s layered histories through archival fragments, forgotten correspondences, and visual documents. The exhibition aims to spark conversations about memory, identity, and the evolving concept of nationhood. Through art, material culture, and historical records, it traces how the past continues to shape our collective consciousness.
Reinterpret the colonial and postcolonial archive: Through installations, mixed-media works, and research-based displays, Hindustan Files attempts to question the nature of record-keeping and historical authorship, inviting viewers to consider how artistic practice can intervene in and reinterpret the colonial and postcolonial archive. The exhibition includes rare pieces like Company School paintings, works by eminent European artists, Kalighat Patachitra, Kansaripara litho-prints, letters and documents from European and Indian dignitaries, rare and vintage books/manuscripts, photographs, and many more.
Changing socio-political landscape of pre-modern India: The Hindustan Files: 1757–1950 exhibition presents an exceptionally rare collection of paintings, photographs, letters, administrative documents, and other historical artefacts that trace the evolution of British India. Through materials from the pre-independence era, the exhibition seeks to map the changing socio-political landscape of pre-modern India.
Vivid ethnographic records of the country: Among the highlights are Company paintings, which serve as vivid ethnographic records of the country during the British Empire, featuring works by renowned artists such as William Baillie, Charles D’Oyly, Thomas and William Daniell, Henry Salt, and F. B. Solvyns. The display also includes postal correspondence of eminent figures such as Raja Rammohan Roy, Rabindranath Tagore, Warren Hastings, Tipu Sultan, Lord Cornwallis, and Jamini Roy, along with critical administrative documents, including letters concerning the transfer of the famed Kohinoor diamond. A rare first copy of the Indian Constitution will also be on display.
To explore the history of India under colonial rule: This exhibition will be of particular interest to artists, historians, students, researchers, and all those keen to explore the history of India under colonial rule. The exhibition will be open to the public from 14 to 23 November 2025 at the Galleries of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru.
About Virasat Art
Virasat Art is a Kolkata-based private organisation that collects, deals and works predominantly in India Art. Their archive collection focuses on Indian historical art, Company-era paintings, manuscripts, letters, original documents, books, prints, etc. The organisation, through its work, aims to bring lesser-seen archival works (letters, early paintings, Company School, etc) into exhibition form to help research and visibility. In addition to curatorial and exhibition work, Virasat Art also engages in publishing. The publication wing is called Virasat Art Publication, and it is interesting because it acts both as a publisher and a curator of historic Indian art. They serve as a bridge between archival historical art and public exhibition.
About Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
Established in 1960, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (CKP) is a registered society and public institution committed to the promotion and preservation of Indian art and culture. From its modest beginnings in a quiet Bengaluru neighbourhood, CKP has grown into a vibrant cultural hub, spread across a three-acre campus in the heart of the city. The Parishath houses an art college, eleven state-of-the-art galleries, an art mart, a museum, and an open marketplace for artisans and craftsmen. Over the past six decades, CKP has remained steadfast in its mission to support artists and art education, independent of private capital or corporate backing. We run two academic institutions dedicated to providing affordable and inclusive education in the visual arts: the College of Fine Arts (Day College) and the Bengaluru School of Visual Arts (Evening College). The College of Fine Arts is situated on a sprawling 13-acre campus and encompasses seven departments: Painting, Applied Art, Sculpture, Printmaking, Art History, Animation, and Ceramics. The Bengaluru School of Visual Arts is India’s first Evening College in visual arts, designed to accommodate working professionals and students seeking to pursue their creative interests alongside other commitments. Both colleges offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the visual arts.
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