Art Exposure is proud to present the first ever landmark exhibition of 10 portraits by Bengal’s most accomplished yet understated modernist painter Bhunath Mukherjee, The exhibition is titled as A Modernist Lineage of Bengali Portraiture, celebrating the practice of Bhunath Mukherjee.
This exhibition brings together a rare body of works spanning the 1940s to the 1950s, showcasing Mukherjee’s mastery of oil portraiture and his ability to balance academic realism with a modernist sensibility. Eight portraits painted between 1944 and 1952, before his formative years at the Royal Academy in London, are displayed alongside two works from 1956, tracing the subtle yet significant shifts in his approach to portraiture. Mukherjee’s artistic journey began at the Government School of Art, Calcutta, in 1935, where he trained under Satish Chandra Sinha and Prahlad Karmakar. His early career included commercial work with the Asansol Coal Field while he simultaneously pursued portraiture and landscape painting. In 1952, he was awarded the opportunity to study at the Royal Academy, London, during the presidency of society portraitist Gerald Kelly. There, Mukherjee refined his technique and deepened his understanding of naturalism, colour, and restraint.
The exhibition consists of 10 portraits of well -known icons from Bengal which include:
1. Rabindranath Tagore
2. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
3. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
4. Michael Madhusudhan Dutta
5. Nabinchandra Sen
6. Deenabandhu Mitra
7. Rash Behari Bose
8. Amrita Lal Basu
9. Dwijendralal Roy
10. Girish Ghosh
Somak Mitra, Director, Art Exposure, shares “With this exhibition, we hope to restore Bhunath Mukherjee’s rightful place in the narrative of Indian modernism. Presenting these rare works in Kolkata, the city where his journey began, is both a tribute and a rediscovery.”
The exhibition situates Mukherjee’s practice within the larger lineage of Bengali portraiture, tracing its roots back to nineteenth-century Calcutta. From Annada Prasad Bagchi and the Calcutta Art Studio’s lithographs that shaped Bengal’s visual culture, to the prestige of oil portraiture as a mark of artistic and social accomplishment, Mukherjee’s work embodies both tradition and innovation. His portraits resonate with the weight of academic ideals yet reveal the modernist impulse to simplify, refine, and dignify the human form. Bhunath Mukherjee: A Modernist Lineage of Bengali Portraiture invites viewers to rediscover an artist whose works bridge academic training, modernist sensibility, and the cultural memory of Bengal.
Bhunath Mukherjee trained at the Government School of Art, Calcutta (now Kolkata), beginning in 1935, where he studied commercial art under Satish Chandra Sinha and Prahlad Karmakar. After graduating, he worked as a programme artist with the Asansol Coal Field, while painting portraits and landscapes in oil, a medium he continued to explore throughout his career. In 1952, Mukherjee travelled to London for a two-year training period at the Royal Academy, further refining his academic techniques. During this time, he produced numerous landscapes and portraits. Interestingly, several works from 1944–46 included in this exhibition bare inscribed with the address of his Kolkata studio, “172/1, Rashbehari Avenue,” a location not too far from here. Mukherjee’s practice reflects a balance of academic realism and the subtle shifts of a modernist sensibility in Indian portraiture and
landscape painting.
Preview: Friday, 12 September 2025, 6 pm onwards
On view till: 31 October 2025
Venue: Art Exposure, 16/2 Lake Terrace, Kolkata 700029
Featuring Image Courtesy: Art Exposure
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