People tend to draw a distinction of major and minor between paintings and drawings from the fact that the medium of drawing has often been used as the base or the starting point of a painting or as part of academic lessons for mastery of the human form or of objects or nature, and hence seems to be easy to handle…But once one looks into the creative process itself, one recognizes at once that a simple drawing in black and white with just a few lines in all can often make a greater impact than a painting that fails to become a work of art in spite of its accumulation of complex techniques or impasto of colours. Personally, I have always been fond of drawings, in pastel or in ink, and enjoyed doing them myself…Some of these drawings, which appear in this exhibition, are essentially academic and naturalistic, but already feature some of my characteristic signs which I could identify as skill, attention to detail, a warm expression of human feelings and human character; and above everything else, the tendency to leave a work unfinished at the very point the artist finds it formally satisfying, to leave it uncluttered and unburdened technically - call it a tendency to stop at just what is adequate!
Introduction
- Zodiac sign
- Aquarius
- Place of Birth
- Faridpur, Undivided India | Present-day Bangladesh
- State Country of Birth
- Undivided India | Present-day Bangladesh
1955
- Government College of Arts and Crafts, Kolkata, India
1955 – 1960
1965
- French Government Scholarship for study at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts and Atelier 17 of William Hayter, Paris, France
1965 – 1967
1996
- Visits Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan
1968
- Art Designer, Weavers' Service Centre, Chennai, India
1968 – 1972
1970
- Becomes a member of the Kolkata Painters Group
1972
- Curator of Paintings, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, India
1972 – 1987
1977
- Participates in artists' camp at Kasauli organised by Vivan Sundaram
1981
- Founder, Joint Editor of the Art Journal, Art Today along with artist, Suvaprasanna
1982
- Participates in artists workshops with Indian and German Artists in Braunschweig, in Germany and Arezzo in Italy
1987
- Joins Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan Visva Bharati as Reader, Department of Painting
- Founded Gallery 26 Artists' Forum
- Associate Professor, Department of Painting, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India
1990
- Jury Member, Biennale Exhibition, Roopankar Museum, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, India
- Participates in HUDCO art camp, New Delhi, India
1992
- Participates in Confluence, Indo-French art camp, Kolkata, India
1993
- Curator for the exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art, Dhaka organized by the Indian Council Relations, New Delhi, India
- Jury Member, annual exhibition, Orissa Lalit Kala Akademi, Bhubaneswar, India
1996
- Commissioner, Sixth Bharat Bhavan Biennale of Contemporary Indian Art, Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bhopal, India
- Member, Advisory Committee, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India (1996-1998)
1996 – 1998
- Principal of Art School at, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, India
1996 – 1998
1997
- Jury Member for Indian Section of the Triennale, India
- Convenor of the seminar, Calcutta Metropolitan Festival of Arts, Kolkata, India
1998
- Member, Advisory Committee, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, India
1998 – 2000
1999
- Participates in art workshops: of Indian and Bangladeshi artists organised by the Bengal Foundation, Dhaka; at Nathdwara organised by the Archer Group, Ahmedabad; at Khajuraho, organised by Sehar
2000
- Participates in seminar organised by Ganakristi, Kolkata, India
- Participates in art camps at, Taj Hotels in Kolkata and New Delhi; Visakhapatnam and Dubai, U.A.E.
2003
- Jury Member, Singapore Biennale Exhibition of Art, Singapore
2004
- Participates in art camps in Australia, Thailand and Mumbai, organised by Zest Group
Exhibitions
1963
- Drawings and Paintings, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, India
1965
- Indian Painters in France, Nongent-le-Retrou, France
- Drawings and Paintings, Bangla Sanskriti Sammelan, Kolkata, India
1966
- Oil Paintings, Galerie de Haut Pave, Paris, France
1967
- Exhibition of artists residents from Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
- Gallery du Haut Pave, Paris, France
1968
- Drawings and Paintings, Alliance Francaise, Chennai, India
1970
- Art Today-III, Kunika Chemould Gallery, New Delhi, India
- Ink and Mixed Media Works on Paper, Sarala Art Centre, Chennai, India
1972
- Second Triennale India, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
- Ink and Mixed Media Works on Paper, All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi, India (Inaugurated by Shri V. V. Giri, President of India)
1973
- All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi, India
1975
- Third Triennale India, Lalit Kala, Akademi, New Delhi, India
1976
- International Exhibition Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Tourist Centre, Embassy of India, Paris, France
1977
- Pictorial Space, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Chanakya Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
1978
- Fourth Triennale India, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
- New Contemporaries, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
1979
- Fifteenth Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil
1963
- Drawings and Paintings, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, India
1965
- Drawings and Paintings, Bangla Sanskriti Sammelan, Kolkata, India
1966
- Oil Paintings, Galerie de Haut Pave, Paris, France
1967
- Gallery du Haut Pave, Paris, France
1968
- Drawings and Paintings, Alliance Francaise, Chennai, India
1970
- Ink and Mixed Media Works on Paper, Sarala Art Centre, Chennai, India
1972
- Ink and Mixed Media Works on Paper, All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi, India (Inaugurated by Shri V. V. Giri, President of India)
1973
- All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi, India
1976
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Tourist Centre, Embassy of India, Paris, France
1977
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Chanakya Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
1981
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, India
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
1982
- Watercolour Paintings, Bithi Art Centre, Vadodara, India
1983
- Amit Ambalal's Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, India
- Karan Grover's Art Gallery,Vadodara, India
- Watercolour Paintings, Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, India
1988
- Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Organised by Kala Yatra, at Sista's Art Gallery, Bengaluru, India
1990
- Kala Yatra, Bengaluru, India
- Drawings, Sarala Art Centre, Chennai, India
1992
- Drawings with Ink and Pastel on Paper, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan
1965
- Indian Painters in France, Nongent-le-Retrou, France
1967
- Exhibition of artists residents from Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France
1970
- Art Today-III, Kunika Chemould Gallery, New Delhi, India
1972
- Second Triennale India, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
1975
- Third Triennale India, Lalit Kala, Akademi, New Delhi, India
1976
- International Exhibition Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
1977
- Pictorial Space, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
1978
- Fourth Triennale India, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
- New Contemporaries, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
1979
- Fifteenth Sao Paolo Biennale, Brazil
- Indian Painting, National Art Academy, Dubai, UAE
1980
- Modern Asian Art, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
- Place for People, Lalit Kala Academi, New Delhi and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
- Seven Indian Painters, Worpswede, Hannover, Hamburg, Braunschweig and Bayreuth, Germany
1981
- Place for People, Mumbai and New Delhi, India
1982
- Indian Painters, Worspede, Hanover, Braunschweig, Bayreuth, Germany
- Triennale of Graphics, Grenchen, Switzerland
- Modern Indian Paintings, Hirshhorn Museum, Washibngton, D.C., USA
- Contemporary Indian Paintings, Festival of India, Royal Academy of Art, London, U.K.
- Inaugural Exhibition, Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bhopal, India
Chronicled Highlights 231959 – 2022
Jogen Chowdhury — Faridpur, Undivided India | Present-day Bangladesh.
In 1992, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Woman Reclining (1964), offered in the Indian European and Oriental Paintings and Works of Art by Sotheby's, which concluded on 09 October 1992 at New Delhi, achieving a sale price of ₹44,000 ($1,464). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 2000, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1964), offered in the Contemporary Indian Paintings: From the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection by Sotheby's, which concluded on 05 December 2000 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹5,61,600 ($12,000). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
Life with all its varieties and vagaries leaves an impact on art.
In 2004, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Eagle (1976), offered in the Indian and Southeast Asian Art: Including 20th Century Indian Paintings by Christie's, which concluded on 23 September 2004 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹9,33,271 ($20,315). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 2005, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of In Search Of A Dream (1976), offered in the Winter Online Auction: Modern and Contemporary Indian Art by Saffronart, which concluded on 08 December 2005 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹82,62,100 ($178,332). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 1996, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Ganesha (1977), offered in the Contemporary Indian Paintings: From The Chester and Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust Part II by Sotheby's, which concluded on 03 April 1996 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹2,73,096 ($8,050). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 2009, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Day Dreaming (1979), offered in the Indian Art by Sotheby's, which concluded on 16 June 2009 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹2,90,79,348 ($608,864). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 1995, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Man Sitting on a Sofa (1981), offered in the Contemporary Indian Paintings: From The Chester and Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust by Sotheby's, which concluded on 12 June 1995 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹1,44,463 ($4,600). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
On 20 December 1987, Jogen Chowdhury made their debut in the Indian public auction market when Couple II (Lovers) was presented as Lot 9 in Contemporary Indian Art (Charity Auction), conducted by Christie's in Mumbai, India. This auction marked the artist's first recorded appearance in the public auction market, establishing the earliest chapter of their auction history.
In 2004, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of A Cloudy Evening (1994), offered in the Indian and Southeast Asian Art: Including 20th Century Indian Paintings by Christie's, which concluded on 23 September 2004 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹7,96,048 ($17,328). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
In 2006, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Situation X (1995), offered in the Modern Indian Art: Summer Online Auction by Saffronart, which concluded on 11 May 2006 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹1,45,36,520 ($322,532). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.
Economics of Art
Record-high lots18
Public Auction Market (1987–2026) | Select Indicators
Annual Auction Sale Turnover
It aggregates all sales across global auction houses into yearly totals.
Analysis reflected in the chart:
The turnover graph highlights periods of strong growth, moments of market correction, and resilience during downturns. Peaks often align with landmark works coming to public auction, while troughs may indicate reduced supply or weaker demand. Over time, the curve illustrates the overall trajectory of Jogen Chowdhury’s public auction market presence.
Average Sale Price Per Lot
It smooths out fluctuations caused by the quantity of works offered and focuses on the Average Sale Price level per artwork.
Analysis reflected in the chart:
Rising average sale prices indicate growing collector confidence and a stronger willingness to pay higher amounts per work. Assuming the mix of mediums remains relatively stable over time, the proportion of works on paper typically priced lower than works on canvas adds important context to understanding these market movements.
Square Inch Rate Trend
This allows fair comparisons between smaller works and larger canvases.
Analysis reflected in the chart:
The Square Inch Rate shown in the graph combines various medium types such as canvas, paper, board, and others. Historically, works on canvas and board have broadly commanded higher prices compared to works on paper.
1958
- Best Award: Best Group of Watercolour Pasintings, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, India
- Best Award: Graphic Arts, Kolkata University Institute Exhibition, Kolkata, India
1959
- Gold Medal: Watercolour Painting, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, India
1960
- Award: Oil Painting, Art Exhibition in Sreerampur, West Bengal, India
1962
- Award: Painting, Youth Festival Exhibition, Kolkata, India
1963
- Best Award: Modern Art, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, India
1966
- Prix Ia France de la Jeune Peinture, Paris, France
1972
- Award: Painting, All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society, New Delhi, India
- Award: Painting, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, India
1974
- Award: Painting, All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society, New Delhi, India
1979
- Award: Graphic Arts, All India Exhibition of Prints, Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, India
1981
- Award: Graphic Arts, All India Graphic and Drawing Exhibition, Ahmedabad, India
1986
- Awarded, 2nd Biennale Havana, Cuba
1995
- Award (Honourable Mention), International Print Biennale, Bhopal, India
1997
- Shiromani Award for Art, by Asian Paints, Kolkata, India
2000
- Award from Ganakristi, Kolkata, India
2001
- Kalidas Samman, awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Government, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, India
Research Centre
Related
50
Personalities
32
Institutions
12
Themes
5