Remembering Jogen Chowdhury: Painter, Teacher, and Former Rajya Sabha Member

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Indian art lost one of its most distinctive voices on Sunday. Jogen Chowdhury, the painter whose line and figures made him a defining name in modern Indian art, died in Kolkata on 25 October 2026. He was 87.

Photo Credit: MATDOT Art Center

He passed away at 10:45 am at a private hospital in Anandapur. According to hospital sources, he had been living with cancer for 14 months and was undergoing chemotherapy. He fell ill on Shasthi, 16 October, and was admitted with an infection. His condition worsened on Saturday, and he was put on ventilation.

A Boyhood In Faridpur, A Life Rebuilt In Kolkata

Chowdhury was born in Daharpara village in the Faridpur district of present-day Bangladesh. After Partition, he moved to Kolkata. He graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft in Kolkata in 1960. Early in his career, he also worked at the Weavers' Service Centre in Chennai, gaining experience in fabric design.

Paris, And A Style Of His Own

A French Government scholarship took him to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1965 to 1967, and to Atelier 17. There he studied in William Hayter's workshop.

It was after Paris that his own voice emerged. He developed his individual style after returning from France in the late 1960s, and his forte was painting in ink, watercolour and pastel. His later work kept a steady emphasis on line. His explorations of the human form ranged across men, women, gods and political figures. His work has been shown at galleries and museums worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Curator, Teacher, Mentor

In 1972, he moved to New Delhi as curator of the Presidential Estate at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also served as regional secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi and later as chairman of the National Gallery of Modern Art.

In 1987, he joined Kala Bhavana in Santiniketan as a professor of painting, and was later its principal and an emeritus professor of Visva-Bharati. He wrote extensively on contemporary art, and is credited with inspiring young artists across India. He also ran an arts centre in Kolkata called Gallery Charubasona.

A Painter In Parliament

In 2014, he was sent to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal as a Trinamool Congress MP, representing civil society, and held the seat until 2020.

Honours

He received the Kalidas Samman in 2001, and the Banga Bibhushan in 2012. He was also a winner of the Asia Arts Vanguard Award.

Tributes

Jogen Chowdhury was the pride of Bengal and India. A great inspiration to artists worldwide, and me personally. My condolences to his family, friends, and admirers all over the world.He was elected as an AITC Rajya Sabha MP from 2014-20 representing civil society, and was awarded theBanga Bibhushan in 2012. His passing away will create an irreparable void in the world of art and culture

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 25, 2026

Mamata Banerjee said his passing would leave an "irreparable void in the world of art and culture". Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari noted that Chowdhury's works are displayed at Rashtrapati Bhavan and said "He will inspire several generations of artists."

Writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, his friend and neighbour, recalled him as open-hearted and said his smile would be missed. He added that Chowdhury had stopped leaving home about a year ago.

Jogen Chowdhury's life ran from a village in Faridpur to Paris, Santiniketan and Parliament, and through all of it he kept drawing. The ink-and-pastel faces and figures he leaves behind, and the students he taught, are what many will turn to as they remember him.