Dhoomimal Gallery (DMG), established in 1936 by Sh. Ram Babu Jain is the oldest contemporary art gallery in India. Having recently completed 75 years of successfully promoting Indian contemporary art Dhoomimal has always been more of an institution than a mere commercial gallery. Sh. Jain an art lover was primarily into the printing and publishing business.

His appreciation of art over the years brought him into contact with some leading artists of the period. This led to the birth of the Dhoomimal Gallery at Connaught Place. The gallery made its beginnings by displaying the works of well-known painters of yesteryears like late Sailoz Mukherjea and Jamini Roy and soon became a hub for contemporary art as well as a meeting place for the capital's artists.

In the late thirties Dhoomimal establishment came to support "Kalakar" a forum for the art minded individuals of the capital who organized musical evenings and sponsored art exhibitions. Shri Jain also initiated publication of monographs on some of the well-known artists of the country like Abdur Rahman Chugtai, Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mukherjea and others. This brought light to the otherwise yet obscure art world.

After the untimely demise of Shri Ram Chand Jain, the leadership of the gallery passed in to the hands of his son Shri Ravi Jain who had just returned from America where he was involved with Indian art. The gallery under his leadership was rejuvenated and in the 70's, the Gallery entered its most active and glorious phase, by coming in close proximity and having regular exhibition of artists such as M.F.Hussain, J.Swaminathan, Shanti Dave, F.N.Souza, H.A.Gade, Krishen Khanna among a host of others. Mr Ravi Jain and J.Swaminathan were considered as one of the best artist-dealer team and played, arguably the most influential role in making Indian contemporary art popular on a country wide basis. The gallery played a pivotal role in bringing forth the Genius of F.N.Souza to the India public by having several important shows of his including one in 1976, which was visited by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and Souza of the 40's in 1984 which is considered as one of the most acclaimed exhibitions of Indian art till date.

Today the Dhoomimal collection has the best private collection of artworks of stalwarts such as F.N.Souza, J.Swaminathan, H.A.Gade, Bimal Das Gupta, Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mukherjea, Anjolie Ela Menon, Krishen Khanna among many others. The gallery today under the leadership of Mr. Uday Jain and his mother Ms. Uma Jain is forbearer of the fast growth of the Indian art market not only in India but globally too. Under the banner of "Ravi Jain Memorial Trust" the gallery continues to promote art and artists including offering scholarships to the young and upcoming artists. Many of these young artists such as Hemraj, G.R.Iranna, Somnath Singh, M.S.C.Satya Sai are today big names in the contemporary art world.

The Gallery in close interlocution with the art critics and the connoisseurs devised new plans for the Dhoomimal Art Complex as more gallery space was available and the art scene in country and the capital was picking up. Dhoomimal's new Mega Art Complex with approx. 5000sq.ft. at G-42, Connaught Circus comprising Ravi Jain Center for International Arts, Sculpture Court, Art Museum a place to browse about new art than just a sale counter, and a Cultural Center opened its doors on September 16th, 2003. This addition has probably made Dhoomimal Gallery the largest art complex in the country.