New Delhi, Jan. 31 -- In 2010, when art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar opened her eponymous museum, the idea of a private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art was a novel one for India. Back then, not-for-profit art foundations set up by collectors, patrons and artists-Devi Art Foundation, Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, JSW Foundation and Khoj Studios, to name a few-to encourage collaboration and exchange were just taking baby steps. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, or KNMA, became an integral part of this landscape as one of the first private museums in the country.

spread across two spaces in Saket, Delhi, and Noida, Uttar Pradesh-was a result of Nadar's fascination with art. Both in her collecting style and...