You do not have to travel to India to stand in front of great Indian art. Many museums around the world hold important collections, often free to visit. This guide lists some of the best, by country, with a note on what each is known for.
United Kingdom
| Museum | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Victoria and Albert Museum London | One of the largest collections of South Asian art outside the subcontinent: Mughal and court painting, jewellery, textiles and the famous mechanical Tipu’s Tiger in the South Asia gallery. |
| British Museum London | The Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery (Room 33) covers South Asia from prehistory to today, with Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sculpture. Carved reliefs from the Buddhist stupa at Amaravati are a highlight. |
| Ashmolean Museum Oxford | Indian sculpture, bronzes and paintings in the Eastern Art galleries. |
United States
| Museum | What to look for |
|---|---|
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York | The Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for South and Southeast Asian Art: stone and bronze sculpture, including Chola bronzes, and court painting. |
| Philadelphia Art Museum Philadelphia | A 16th-century pillared temple hall from Madurai in south India, rebuilt inside the museum, alongside a large collection of South Asian art. |
| Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art Washington, DC | Free to visit. Indian painting, sculpture and decorative arts across its Freer and Sackler buildings. |
| Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Boston | A strong collection of Rajput and Pahari painting, shaped in part by the scholar Ananda Coomaraswamy, who worked there as a curator. |
| Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Los Angeles | A wide South and Southeast Asian collection, including Indian sculpture and painting. |
| Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland | Free to visit, with a highly regarded collection of Indian sculpture and painting. |
| Asian Art Museum San Francisco | South Asian galleries with sculpture, painting and decorative arts. |
| Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City | Free to visit, with notable South Asian sculpture. |
Canada
| Museum | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Royal Ontario Museum Toronto | The Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery, with sculpture, textiles and objects from across the region. |
| Aga Khan Museum Toronto | Islamic arts, including Mughal manuscripts and painting from India. |
Europe
| Museum | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet Paris | One of Europe’s great Asian art museums, with Indian sculpture and painting. |
| Museum Rietberg Zurich | Known for its Indian painting, especially from the Pahari hill courts, shown in changing displays because works on paper are fragile. |
| Humboldt Forum (Museum für Asiatische Kunst) Berlin | South Asian sculpture, painting and a reconstructed cave temple setting for Buddhist art from the Silk Road. |
| Rijksmuseum Amsterdam | Indian sculpture in the Asian Pavilion, and objects that tell the story of Dutch trade with India. |
Asia and Australia
| Museum | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore | South Asian galleries with sculpture, textiles and trade objects. |
| Indian Heritage Centre Singapore | The story of the Indian community in Southeast Asia, in Little India. |
| Tokyo National Museum Tokyo | Indian sculpture and textiles in the Asian Gallery (Toyokan). |
| Art Gallery of New South Wales Sydney | A growing South Asian collection, including sculpture and painting. |
| National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne | South Asian art, including textiles and painting, in its Asian galleries. |
Explore from home
Several museums put their collections online with free, high-quality images: The Met’s open access collection, the V&A’s Explore the Collections, the British Museum’s Collection online and Google Arts & Culture. Search for a craft name such as “Kalamkari” or “Pichwai”.
Tips for a museum visit
Read our guide to symbols and gods first; it makes sculpture galleries far easier to follow. Look for labels that say where and when an object was made, as region explains a great deal. If you plan to visit India, our guide to museums and craft villages in India lists places craft by craft.
Sources
The museums’ own websites and collection pages, linked above.
Last checked: November 2026.