Like various other institute of that era, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime-Minister of India, conceived National gallery of modern art. This institute cum art gallery was established in the year 1954 to promote and conserve the modern art movement. By modern art it meant sculpture and paintings belonging to an era after 1857. It included various 19th and 20th century art movement such as realism, surrealism, objectivism etc. Among others it has a superb collection of paintings dating from 1857 to the present day.

Company School paintings of the 19th and early 20th centuries are the prized possessions of this museum. These paintings, heavily influenced from the Victorian art movement of mid 19th century, were actually the pioneer and guiding light of the Indian modern art movement. The pioneers of this era were likes of Rabindranath Tagore, Jamini Roy and Amrita Sher Gil who has special place amidst exhibits. These paintings tell a volume about the evolution of the Indian Modern Art movement.

The modern art gallery has a mammoth collection of works. It exhibits around 4,000 paintings, graphics, and sculptures of modern artists. But the best feature of this gallery is the fact that it helps armatures to organize their own exhibitions. Truly, this effort for the promotion of the Art is worth appreciation. Modern art movement has truly caught the fancy of the masses lately. The school is represented by Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Ramkumar Kinkar, Rabindranash Tagore, Binod Behari Mukherjee, Jaimini Roy, Yamini Mukherjee among others.

The displays get changed every month barring the master pieces such as Amrita Shergill's Self Portrait, Two women, Musicians and Bathers and Jamini Roy's Krishna and Balarama, Kirian, Yasoda and Krishna. Among the contemporary artists it has works of Maqbul Fida Hussein, Souza and Raza.