The Partition Museum features a collection of art inspired by the events of Partition, including contemporary pieces. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore a treasure trove of artwork that offers insight into the impact of Partition on individuals and communities.
Expressing pain and loss during the Partition was difficult for survivors. Many coped by forgetting the traumatic scenes they witnessed. Uprooting and displacement created their own challenges, leaving little time for emotional processing. Partition art emerged later when artists could reflect on their trauma. Some artworks reflected the witnessed pain and received recognition as Partition art much later.
Modern and Contemporary Art on display at the Partition Museum Delhi
The Partition Museum features a collection of paintings inspired by the events of Partition, including contemporary interpretations. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore a treasure trove of artwork that offers insight into the impact of Partition on individuals and communities.
Expressing pain and loss during the Partition was difficult for survivors. Many coped by forgetting the traumatic scenes they witnessed. Uprooting and displacement created their challenges, leaving little time for emotional processing. Partition Art emerged later when artists could reflect on their trauma. Some artworks reflected the witnessed pain and received recognition as Partition Art much later.
Satish Gujral
Born in 1925 in Jhelum, in pre-partition West Punjab, Satish Gujral moved to India in 1944 to join the Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai. A witness to Partition, the agony of the immigrant experience strongly manifested itself in Gujral’s early works—his first collection of works from 1947 is called the Partition Series. It is a theme he has returned to frequently in his career that spanned over six decades.
Untitled, Satish Gujral
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
Jogen Chowdhury
Refugees in Sealdah Railway Station is a drawing that Jogen Chowdhury created as a young boy of 19. This drawing is a response to his observation of the scene at Sealdah railway station in West Bengal, teeming with refugees during the aftermath of the Partition. Jogen Chowdhury is known for successfully depicting traditional imagery with the spirit of contemporary painting. His practice is deeply informed by his understanding of the socio-political fabric of society, as the Partition experience of 1947 left a deep impression on him as an artist.
Refugees in Sealdah railway station, Jogen Chowdhury, Black ink drawing on paper, 11 x 15 inches, 1958
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
Arpana Caur
Arpana Caur, born in New Delhi in 1954, was deeply influenced by literature and art during the Partition in her growing years. Though she had not personally experienced the Partition, the spirituality of Punjab, which gave birth to Guru Nanak and great Sufi saints and her family history, has created a great bond of empathy reflected in her art which calls for harmony and peace.
Love and War, Arpana Caur, Oil on Canvas, 33×48 in, 2013
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
Amar Nath Sehgal
The Cricketer, a sculpture made in bronze by Sehgal, was presented by the Indian Government and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Pakistan National Cricket team during their tour in 1961. A series of test matches were allowed despite the turbulent relations both countries shared proved to be an example of true sportsmanship. Captained by Fazal Mahmood from Pakistan and Nari Contractor from India, the 5 test matches were played against several local Indian squads as well. The gift was viewed as an iconic milestone for peace and goodwill through sports. This was as important to the artist for he witnessed the brutality of the two countries first-hand and lost his home in the Partition of 1947.
The original sculpture remains in Pakistan, while a second sculpture depicting the cricketer’s shot is displayed in the Partition Museum in Delhi.
Currently on display in Delhi
The Cricketer, Amar Nath Sehgal, Bronze, 23 x 12.9 x 8.2 in, 1961
Amar Nath Sehgal Private Collection
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
The Museum also displays works of contemporary art exploring the theme of displacement and loss resulting from the Partition of India in 1947.
Debasish Mukherjee
Debashish Mukherjee’s installation, “Re settling: Settling“, offers an abstract mapping of real and liminal spaces, celebrating our material and intangible memories held together in an uneven, half-lit landscape within our minds.
Currently on display in Delhi
Re settling: Settling, Debasish Mukherjee, Metal, 8×8.5×13 (ft), 2023, Akar Prakar Gallery
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
Veer Munshi
Veer Munshi’s The Fallen House evokes the emotion of homelessness and preserves a moment in time during Partition, with video art projections depicting the separation of humans from their heritage.
Currently on display in Delhi
Fallen House, Veer Munshi, Wood, 12x20x9(ft), 2023, Art Alive Gallery
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
Munshi’s Zuljanah installation pays tribute to those who have faced trauma due to migration, displacement, and Partition by referencing the horse that carried the pain of humans in the annual Shi’a commemoration of the battle of Karbala.
Currently on display in Delhi
Zuljanah, Veer Munshi, Hand Painted, Resin fibreglass, Varnish, 74 x 55 x 42 inches, 2016
Image Courtesy: TAACHT Archives
Serena Chopra
Serena Chopra’s portraits of Dilliwala offer diverse experiences of how “Shehr” changed after Independence and the encounter with the situation in Delhi. These poignant and powerful images have earned a place in the permanent display at the Partition Museum, which is housed in the historic Dara Shukoh Library building.
Photographed here is Sydney Ribeiro in 2022
