Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, during the valedictory of the Godavari Pushkaram, had announced that the Damerla Rama Rao Art Gallery, a well-known landmark in Rajahmundry, would be restored and renovated.
The heritage art gallery, dedicated to the renowned artist, houses his works such as the 34 fully finished paintings in oil, 129 in water colours, 250 sheets of studies in pencil, 26 sketchbooks and a number of loose sketch sheets. Most of them are hardly visible, thanks to the poor upkeep.
“Major oil paintings such as ‘Krishna Leela’ (1921), ‘Godavari of Eastern Ghats’ (1921) and ‘Milkmaids of Kathiawar’ (1923) are worth crores of rupees,” says Guvvala Kennedy, a popular artist who studied at the Damerla Rama Rao Art School.
The vagaries of nature have taken a heavy toll on popular water colour sketches like ‘Siddartha Ragodayam’ on Gautama Buddha and ‘Nandi Puja’ on the Kakatiyas.
Mr. Rama Rao’s keen interest in painting was spotted by Sir O.J. Couldrey, then principal of the Rajahmundry Arts College, who took him to the Ajanta and Ellora caves for sketching sculptures.
