NGA repatriates 14 objects to India, valued at over $3M
Updated policy overlays ethical lens on collecting, with implications for First Nations collections, and ushering a next chapter for National Gallery of Australia.
Detail of repatriated artwork from NGA collection, Guru Das Studio, (Gujarati family group portrait), purchased 2009. Supplied.
This has been a long story, but we are now witnessing its conclusion.
This brings the total repatriated works to 23 – this 14, six previously returned between 2014-2019, plus another three currently under final investigation and looking likely to also be returned.
This is not reserved to historical collections, but has particular resonance in how museums and galleries responsibily collect First Nations materials, for example, and research their holdings.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
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