The Indian Society of Oriental Art (ISOA) was an art society established in 1907. The Indian Society of Oriental Art founders Abanindranath Tagore (principal) and Gaganendranath Tagore established the society to propogate the discourse of oriental art, both modern and ancient. ISOA held numerous art exhibitions, published high-quality art reproduction and elite illustrations, and taught students the nuances of art and its myriad styles.

History of the Indian Society of Oriental Art

ISOA grew out of the success of the exhibitions of Tagore School of Art. Europeans were perplexed with the steady development of Indian art. Hence, they became the major sponsors for the Indian Society of Oriental Art. The ISOA began with a series of exhibitions chronicling the new movement in Indian painting, under the tutelage of Abanindranath Tagore and EB Havell. The business meetings were held at the Government School of Art and the Asiatic Society. They were also associated with the London India Society, when they were commissioned to make new copies of the Ajanta cave paintings.

They also delved into exhibition reviews, originally penned by Sir John Woodroffe and later by James H Cousins. Soon, the Indian Society of Oriental Art started reproducing Abanindranath Tagore’s and Nandalal Bose’s marvels done in Japanese wood blocks. Besides these colour reproductions, they also published high-quality images of Indian paintings, which popularised their cause.

Indian Society of Oriental Art Schools

A school was opened at 6 Samavaya Mansion in the Hindusthan Insurance Building, Kolkata. The students, which included Hakim Khan, Deviprasad Ray Chaudhuri, Bireswar Sen, and Chanchalkumar Bandyopadhyaya were taught by maestros, the like of Nandalal Bose, Giridharilal, and Kshitindranath Mazumdar, supervised by the Indian Society of Oriental Art founders.

The Indian Society of Oriental Art held annual exhibitions at the premises, which weren’t necessarily all about Indian art. In 1914, they conducted an exhibition of Indian Modern Art in Paris, making it the first in Europe.

Publications of Indian Society of Oriental Art

The ISOA published two journals. The ‘Journal of Indian Society of Oriental Art’ was first issued in 1933 and delved into articles, reviews, and superior illustrations. The first editor of the journal were Abanindranath Tagore and Stella Kramrisch. Another quarterly journal published by ISOA was ‘Rupam’ which was in circulation between 1920 to 1930. It was edited by OC Gangoly.