Picasso in town, under tight security

November 14: The heavy security cordon at the Chhatrapati Shivaji airport this morning was not for any political leader, but for an unparalled leader in the world of art. The original paintings of Pablo Picasso landed in Mumbai for the first time today for the French Avant-Garde 1880-19308242; exhibition, to be held at the National Gallery of Modern Art NGMA from November 17 to December 15.

From the airport, the paintings of the French master, insured for millions of dollars, were taken straight to the NGMA, where they have been kept amidst tight bandobast. The works of other masters such as Renoir, Matisse, Degas, Gauguin, Vuillard, Bernard, Chagall and Rouault are also part of the 114-strong collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, early original lithographs and masks. That has arrived here and will be on display at the exhibition. This is the first time that the entire collection has travelled outside the Leon Dierx Museum from Reunion Island, a French Overseas Region close to Mauritius, and it hasbeen brought to Mumbai by the museum in association with the Embassy of France, the NGMA and Indian Council of Cultural Relations. Before its arrival in the city, the exhibition was on view in New Delhi.

This collection of works originally belonged to Ambroise Vollard, an art dealer and collector of art works at the turn of the century. He had close links with artists in Paris, who later turned out to be masters in their own right. After his death in 1939, his brother Lucien donated part of his collection to the Leon Dierx Museum.

After the NGMA show, the exhibition will go to Singapore in the year 2000, then in Paris at the Orsay Museum and in Johannesburg, South Africa, before returning to the museum in 2001.

The NGMA exhibition will be inaugurated by Governor P C Alexander on Tuesday, with Union Minister of Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Ananth Kumar presiding over the inauguration function. The exhibition will be on view till December 15 on all weekdays except Monday.