The Government College of Fine Arts at Egmore — the oldest institution for fine arts set up by the British in India to nurture native talent — is all set to get an image makeover, including restoration of the museum.
“The idea is to introduce modern facilities without damaging the original structures,” D. Mathialagan, Principal in-charge of the college, told The Hindu.
Designed on the guidance of the Royal Academy of Art in London, the college has structures in Indo-Saracenic architectural style. The sprawling 4.5-acre campus houses historic buildings such as the ‘White Building,’ the official residence of its Principal during colonial days, and which now acts as administrative block, and the ‘Red Building’ (named after its red brick work) that retains its original library and the Department of Paintings.
As per plan, the museum in the Red Building is being restored with its high latticed windows, bright sodium lights and a coat of white paint at a cost of Rs. 1.88 crore.
Special glass boxes to display rare British collections are also placed in the museum. Some collections include the Kodali Karuppur sari that was worn by Madurai ruler Thirumalai Naicker’s wife, rare bronze sculptures and portraits of British officers.
College officials said that a team of curators from the Government Museum in Egmore will inspect the collections and help display them at the museum for public view soon.
This apart, a series of modernisation attempts, including installation of 18 CCTV cameras at key points like museum, bitumen-topped roads on the campus, landscaping, replacement of 60 sodium-vapour lights with LEDs, additional rest rooms and classrooms, a digital name board at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore, are being planned in the next few months, the authorities said. Most of the restoration work at the museum is done, including electrical work by the Public Works Department (PWD), they added.
