An artist of exceptional talent and far ahead of his time, Hemendranath Mazumder was born in erstwhile Bengal (present-day Bangladesh). Hailed as a renowned painter of European academic style, he could not confirm to the ideals of Abanindranath Tagore’s Neo-Bengal School, despite being his close associate.

Sir Udaychand Mahtab, the Maharaja Dhiraja Bahadur K.C.I.E., was the last ruler of Burdwan Raj, who ruled from 1941 to 1955, until the zamindari system was abolished in India. He was the eldest son of HH Maharaja Bijoychand Mahtab (1887 – 1941). During the regency of his father he served as Dewan-i-Raj for several years and subsequently after the death of his father succeeded to the throne.

“The theory behind our collection was that art was not bought with idea of decorating our walls or for any kind of commercial purpose or interest, but to help & encourage the artist to survive. Art is a lifelong passion imbibed from our parents who trained us to appreciate the artists’ paintings with a view of their struggle to survive & the devotion put by the artists under very difficult circumstances that prevailed pre-independence, not like today’s page3 social cocktail parties. The result was that we learnt to appreciate any painting… good, bad, or ugly & not just big names & important works. Even unsigned works of artists are judged by us with equal importance as published, famous & fabulous works of an artist. The paintings acquired by us were always with a view of historical & significant milestones in the history of Indian contemporary Art” - VARSHA THACKER & DINESH THACKER

Born on 8th January 1903, Radha Devi Goenka was a renowned social worker and freedom fighter and along with her husband Kishan Lal Goenka was recognized as a leading citizen of the city of Akola (Maharashtra) in the 1950s. The couple supported and contributed to various socio-economic and cultural causes. Radha Devi Goenka had at one time also contemplated the Governorship of the Central Provinces to further her contribution to these causes, with an emphasis on the empowerment of women.

Husain saab used to be a frequent visitor to our home during the making of Gaja Gamini as my sister was a part of the movie. I had always had an admiration for his works but was now also inspired by his personality …..magnanimous and spontaneous……. I had casually expressed a desire to own a work by him and very soon he gifted me a painting depicting Horses and to my delight had even signed Chinoo on the canvas.