Eminent painter Jogen Chowdhury died after a long battle with blood cancer at a private hospital in Kolkata on Sunday morning, hospital authorities said.
Chowdhury, a former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member, was 87.
Chowdhury had been undergoing chemotherapy for around 18 months. He was recently admitted to the hospital with a urinary tract infection and had to be put on ventilator support.
Expressing his condolences, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, “I wish immortality for his soul. His works are displayed at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will inspire several generations of artists.”
Noted writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, an old friend and neighbour of the painter, said, “Jogen was an open-hearted person. His smile is what we will all miss. He stopped leaving home a year ago and rarely took telephone calls. He will remain immortal as a painter.”
“Chowdhury had been undergoing chemotherapy since early 2025. He was admitted in serious condition and was put on ventilator support,” a hospital official said.
The painter was born on February 16, 1939, in Faridpur, in present-day Bangladesh, where his father, Pramathanath Chowdhury, was a landlord and patron of art. Chowdhury migrated to Kolkata during Partition.
He enrolled at the Government College of Art and Craft in Kolkata in 1955 and graduated in 1960. He became an art teacher and also worked as a designer for the state handloom board before moving to Paris in 1965 on a French government scholarship to study art.
Chowdhury earned recognition as a major figure in modern Indian art and also served as curator of the art gallery at Rashtrapati Bhavan.