The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) in Cleveland (Ohio, USA) is presenting images of various Hindu deities in an exhibition “Indian Kalighat Paintings” through September 18, 2011. It reportedly includes 40 paintings (watercolors) from 1800s of Kali, Durga and Her Lion Killing Maheshasura, Karttikeya, Krishna-Balarama, Ganesh, Krishna-Radha, Gajalakshmi, etc., by anonymous artists from Kolkata area in India.
Applauding CMA for exhibiting Hinduism focused art, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged other major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
Founded in 1913, CMA claims to “strive to help the broadest possible audience understand and engage with the world’s great art while honoring the highest aesthetic, intellectual, and professional standards” and considers itself “one of the world’s most distinguished comprehensive art museums”. David Franklin is the Director, while Alfred M. Rankin Jr. and Michael J. Horvitz are President and Chair respectively of its Trustees Board.