The National Art Gallery in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

was the first state-sponsored

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

built in the country. The gallery is located in

Cinnamon Gardens Cinnamon Gardens ( ''Kurundu Vaththa'', ) is an affluent neighbourhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located 3 kilometers south-east of Colombo's centre. Cinnamon Gardens is named for the former cinnamon plantation in this area. In the year 1789, there w ...

near the

Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre The Nelum Pokuna Theatre (, ''nelum pokuna rangahala''; often known as Nelum Pokuna; previously the National Performing Arts Theatre, prior to naming at the opening ceremony after which the President Mahinda Rajapaksa named it after himself) is a ...

Viharamahadevi Park Viharamahadevi Park (; formerly Victoria Park, ) is a public park located in Cinnamon Gardens, in Colombo, situated in front of the colonial-era Town Hall, Colombo, Town Hall in Sri Lanka. It was built by the British colonial administration and is ...

, the

National Museum of Colombo The Colombo National Museum, also known as the Sri Lanka National Museum, is a museum in Colombo and the largest in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1877 and maintained by the Department of National Museums, it holds collections of significant importance ...

, the

Town Hall, Colombo The Town Hall of Colombo (, ) is the headquarters of the Colombo Municipal Council and the office of the mayor of Colombo. Built in front of the Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka, it is the meeting place for the elected municipal council. ...

and

Colombo Public Library Colombo Public Library is the largest public library in Sri Lanka, located in Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. History The first public library in the country was the United Service Library, which was established in 1813. It was used exclusively by civil ...

. The building consists of a three wing gallery space: the main gallery has a permanent collection of portraits and landscapes and the two adjoining wings display temporary exhibitions by Sri Lankan artists. The eastern hall is approximately and the western hall is approximately about . Both galleries have a ceiling height. In 1911 the need for a national art gallery was first identified by the

Ceylon Society of Arts Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and the Arts Council of Ceylon however its construction was delayed until after

World War 1 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The central gallery was completed and opened in March 1932. The building was designed by Gate Mudliyar A. C. G. S. Amarasekara. In 1952 the gallery was placed under the control of the Department of Cultural Affairs. In June 2013, the gallery's collection was reported to be in a very poor state of repair.

References

Museums with year of establishment missing Art museums and galleries in Sri Lanka Museums in Colombo National museums of Sri Lanka {{art-display-stub