Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings to travel for exhibitions: Vadodara royal Radhikaraje Gaekwad

Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, part of one of the world’s largest private collections of original works of Raja Ravi Varma, will be sent for exhibitions nationally and internationally in the future, Radhikaraje Gaekwad, custodian of the collection and holder of the title of Maharani of Baroda, said on the sidelines of the two-day Aikyam Festival, which concluded here on Sunday (October 11, 2026). The collection is housed within Laxmi Vilas Palace and the Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum in Vadodara.

The last time the artist’s paintings travelled outside Vadodara was about a decade ago, when the paintings were exhibited in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. In India, they were sent on exhibition to the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai two decades ago, Ms. Gaekwad said.

The renewed focus on the paintings comes at a time when the Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum is undergoing a major renovation. Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was commissioned by the Gaekwad royal family in the 1888, before he came to be known as an acclaimed painter.

Now, a state-of-the-art, climate controlled and secure 20,000 sq. ft. storage facility is being built by the Maharaja Fatesingh Museum Trust to house over 40,000 objects in the Gaekwad family collection, including paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, armoury, royal regalia, textiles, and photographic archives. A newer, larger museum is also planned to showcase the family’s collection.