It’s hard to miss Three Stanzas of the New Millennium, a triptych by the late modern Indian artist MF Husain, as you enter the majestic lobby of The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. Commissioned to commemorate the hotel’s 100th anniversary in 2003, the work is bold in its scope, addressing multiple themes including scientific discovery, advancements in technology—and, perhaps, humanity itself. The screenprint is one of several masterpieces in The Taj’s extensive collection that traces the progression of modern and contemporary Indian art movements from the mid-20th century onwards.
Then there’s ITC Maurya, New Delhi, which is home to multiple works by Husain, including 18 painted glass panels in the main lobby that highlight key episodes from the Mauryan era. There’s also the famous mural by Krishen Khanna, titled The Great Procession.
Works by noted artists Jamini Roy, Ram Kumar, Reddeppa Naidu, as well as caricatures by RK Laxman, and a life-size canvas by Husain adorn the newly refurbished Taj Mahal in New Delhi.
Before Indian art commanded record prices in auction houses, works by Indian artists graced the lobbies and corridors of the country’s grand hotels. These hotels became early patrons of Indian art, building their own collections while commissioning local artists. Hotels in India have been among the earliest patrons of art in the post-independence era.
Birth of a Movement
Two names stand out when one looks back on the connection between art and hotels—The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, and The Imperial, New Delhi.
The Taj Mahal Palace has one of the earliest and most significant corporate art portfolios in India, according to curator Mortimer Chatterjee. While no one individual can be credited with the vast acquisition of works, art connoisseur Elisabetha Kerkar’s contribution remains significant, as she was among the first to acquire valuable artworks for several of the Taj properties. According to The Taj Mahal, New Delhi’s archives, Kerkar spearheaded art curation for the hotel that was inaugurated in 1978 with some exceptional artworks. An avid art lover, Kerkar is known to have travelled to Pune, Rajasthan, and Bengal to personally meet artisans to commission works. The hotel also brought in artist Anjolie Ela Menon to paint a fresco reminiscent of the great picture wall commissioned by Emperor Jehangir for one of his forts.
The Imperial—known for housing original works by Thomas Daniell and William Daniell, Emily Eden, JB Fraser, and William Simpson—was, on the other hand, envisioned as an art hotel, and already had a prized collection when it opened in 1936. The hotel continued adding to its collection to build a repository of over five thousand pieces, including murals and prized artefacts.
Established in 1965, The Oberoi, New Delhi, has a collection that includes miniatures, shekhawati murals and pichwai-style paintings—Indian art forms that weren’t until then displayed in prominent hotels. The hotel lobby houses The Tree of Life, an artwork by the late artist Satish Gujral. Embellished with gold leaf, it is claimed that the semi-abstract sculpture has been handcarved from a single piece of Burmese teakwood. The work is said to be inspired by the stone latticework windows in the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad.
Modern Indian Hotels and Art
It was around the late ’70s and ’80s that other hotels began to look at acquiring and commissioning artworks in a more serious manner.
If the Taj Mahal, New Delhi, had Anjolie Ela Menon painting frescoes, the ITC Maurya, New Delhi, had Krishen Khanna take over its ceiling to create The Great Procession. Taj Bengal, Kolkata, commissioned Shyamal Roy to create a series of larger-than-life terracotta sculptures for its lobby. Khanna’s work gave ITC Maurya its signature basilica-esque lobby and Menon’s mural became the pivot around which Taj’s signature restaurant Varq was designed. The artworks in these hotels became an intrinsic part of each hotel’s design ethos.
While metropolitan hotels engaged big names to create masterpieces of modern art, smaller cities sourced works from local art schools. In Taj Cidade De Goa Heritage, a property originally designed by architect Charles Correa, murals and sculptures bring Goan and Portuguese art to life. In Taj Mahal, Lucknow, another hotel where Kerkar left her mark, one sees drawings of the city’s monuments and elaborate portraits of nawabs. The Leela Raviz Kovalam, also designed by Correa, houses panchaloha sculptures from Swamimalai, Tamil Nadu, aside from works by 19th-century painter Raja Ravi Varma.
At The Leela Palaces in Delhi and in Chennai, Madhu Nair personally commissioned artists including Satish Gujral, Jayasri Burman, and Sanjay Bhattacharya to create artworks that are central to the hotels. At Grand Hyatt Mumbai, curator Rajeev Sethi commissioned artworks inspired by local sites like Elephanta Islands, Jogeshwari Caves, and Mandapeshwar Caves. And at the newer Andaz, New Delhi, artworks were especially commissioned by Sethi to pay homage to the capital city.
Continuing Legacy
Acquiring and commissioning aside, how do these institutions keep their collections relevant, one wonders. Several legacy hotels have dedicated curators that regularly update their collection. Hotels also offer art walks. The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, for instance, has a heritage walk that highlights the hotel’s art collection, as do The Imperial and The Leela Palace New Delhi, which also has a digital art wall showcasing works from local galleries.
According to Sethi, hotels are like new-age museums that reach more people than traditional museums. “Decoration is not the purpose, but the revival of the skill of people who represent the built form or performative energy,” he says.
At Jüsta Hotels, for example, emerging artists from around the world meet through an annual art residency called Chitrashala. Much of the art made is acquired by Jüsta itself and displayed in their properties across India. At the Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel in Maharashtra, meanwhile, patronage finds expression through the revival of ganjifa, an art form that involves hand-painted playing cards.
Ultimately, the curation of artworks goes far beyond mere aesthetics—it serves as investment, conservation, and even patronage. And for those who were first introduced to Husain, Raza, Menon, and Gaitonde in the lobbies, corridors, and restaurants of these hotels, it serves as a gateway to the worlds of local and international art.
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