The Govt College of Art and Craft, one of India’s oldest art institutions, has been designated a Grade I heritage structure, with a blue plaque installed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to mark its historical significance. This initiative is part of a broader campaign to raise public awareness about the history of important structures and foster a sense of pride in the city’s cultural heritage. The campaign began in 2022 with the installation of a plaque outside Rani Rashmoni’s Janbazar house.
“We are glad to receive the blue plaque as it recognizes the history and heritage of the institution,” said Chhatrapati Dutta, Principal of the Govt Art College. “I appreciate the initiative taken by the civic body.”
Founded on August 16, 1854, as the School of Industrial Art in Garanhata, the college was initially a private art school. It was taken over by the government in 1864 and renamed the Govt School of Art. On June 29 of the same year, Henry Hover Locke was appointed principal and emphasized aligning the institution’s curriculum with the South Kensington School in London. In 1892, the college relocated to its current site near the Indian Museum and was renamed the Govt College of Art and Craft in 1951.
Abanindranath Tagore, who served as vice principal from 1905 to 1915, and Ernest Binfield Havell, who was superintendent in 1896 and principal until 1905, pioneered an alternative model of art education that sought to develop an Indian visual idiom distinct from the prevalent Western academic realism.
Aniruddha Mukherjee, Secretary of the Govt Art College Alumni Association, highlighted the institution’s notable alumni, including Nandalal Bose, Jamini Ray, Somnath Hore, Zainul Abedin, Ganesh Pyne, Ganesh Haloi, Shanu Lahiri, Jogen Chowdhury, Paresh Maity, Sanatan Dinda, and others.
The blue plaque installation acknowledges the college’s rich legacy and contributions to the Indian art landscape.
Feature Image Courtesy: TOI
