Kalighat paintings are so named due to the painters thriving settlement of the patuas or cloth painters around the temples of Kali at Kalighat in Kolkata.

Simple brush strokes of water and vegetable and herbal colours have given birth to the unique paintings to be displayed in the exhibition. The Kalighat School of Paintings is perhaps the first school of paintings in India that is truly modern as well as popular with their bold simplifications, strong lines, vibrant colours and visual rhythms. These paintings have a surprising affinity to the modern art. The theme of these paintings are mostly mythological characters that later evolved to civil life in Kolkata along with other secular and contemporary themes.