COLOMBO – An audit of Sri Lanka’s National Art Gallery has revealed that 42 paintings listed in official records are missing from the institution’s collection, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Hiniduma Sunil Senevi told Parliament on Thursday (21) .
Responding to a parliamentary question, the minister said a physical verification and survey committee had been appointed in 2015 under instructions from the then Director of Cultural Affairs to inspect paintings and sculptures housed at the gallery.
Following the survey, the committee submitted a stock verification report identifying significant discrepancies between the institution’s official inventory records and the artwork physically available at the gallery.
According to official ledgers and stock books, the National Art Gallery should contain 281 paintings.
“However, the physical number of paintings actually remaining inside the Kalabhavana is 239. Accordingly, the discrepancy between these two figures is 42,” the minister said.
Senevi described the missing works as valuable and historically significant artworks and said authorities had initiated legal and administrative action regarding the disappearance of the paintings.
He said a preliminary inquiry had been launched by a committee appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs.
The committee is currently recording statements and collecting evidence from relevant individuals connected to the matter.
In parallel, a police investigation is also underway, with the Colombo South Division Criminal Investigation Bureau conducting further inquiries into the disappearance of the artwork.
The minister said investigations were continuing based on information uncovered during the probe.
The National Art Gallery, one of Sri Lanka’s key state institutions for preserving and exhibiting visual art and cultural heritage, is currently closed for renovation works.
-ENCL
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