India Famous Artists from India

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Raise your brushes for a list of the most popular artists from India, listed alphabetically with photos when available. You might also be interested in famous artists from Japan and famous artists from Spain. For centuries, artists have been among the world's most important people, chronicling history and entertaining millions with works that stimulate intellects and emotions. Whether they're known for painting, sculpting, etching, or drawing, the famous Indian artists on this list have kept that tradition alive, creating renowned pieces of art that have been praised around the world and made marks in a variety of different media. Below, you can find useful information about these notable Indian artists.

Artists on this list include "The Father of Modern Indian Sculpture" Ramkinkar Baij and Indian painters like Satish Gujral and F.N. Souza.

This list answers the burning artistic questions, "Which famous artists are from India?" and "Who are the most well-known Indian artists?"

For more details on these modern and historic Indian artists, click on their names. If you're a fine art lover, use this list of celebrated Indian artists to discover some new paintings, sculptures, drawings and other works that you'll enjoy.

1

Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain, also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s, and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru and spiritual ...more

2

Rabindranath Tagore Dancing Girl Rabindranath Tagore, also written Rabīndranātha Thākura, sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in ...more

3

Boman Irani Boman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor, voice artist and photographer. He is widely known for his comedic and villain roles in Bollywood movies such as Don, Munna Bhai MBBS, 3 Idiots ...more

4

Idries Shah Idries Shah, also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen books on ...more

5

M. F. Husain Autobiography, Mother India, Between the Spider & the Lamp Maqbool Fida Husain commonly known as MF Husain, was an Indian painter and Film Director. In 1967, He has received the National Film Award for Best Experimental Film for Through The Eyes of a ...more

6

Sooni Taraporevala Sooni Taraporevala is an Indian screenwriter and photographer who is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay, all directed by Mira ...more

7

L. Shankar Lakshminarayana Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer. He has worked extensively in both traditional music from India, and in ...more

8

Dilip Chitre Dilip Purushottam Chitre was one of the foremost Indian writers and critics to emerge in the post Independence India. Apart from being a very important bilingual writer, writing in Marathi and ...more

9

Rupesh Patric Rupesh Xavier Patric is a self-trained artist. His medium is the charcoal sketch. He lives in Bangalore, India.

10

Jitish Kallat Analgesic Studies 01, Carbon Milk 9, Bon Voyage (flesh Jitish Kallat is a contemporary Indian artist. He currently lives and works in Mumbai, India.

11

Aziz Aziz is an Indian artist and painter from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He has pioneered the use of plaster of paris on canvas along with oil paints for a three-dimensional effect. His colour ...more

12

Cheenu Pillai Cheenu Pillai is a self-taught artists from chennai, India who blends European expressionism with dravidian themes.

13

Yamini Reddy Yamini Reddy is Indian classical dancer, a kuchipudi exponent.

14

Dabboo Ratnani Dabboo Ratnani is a leading Indian fashion photographer, known for his annual calendar which has become a highly notable showbiz event in India since its first publication in 1999. He is the ...more

15

Adyar K. Lakshman Adyar K. Lakshman was a noted Indian Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer and guru.

16

Thakur Dalip Singh Thakur Dalip Singh is a renowned and internationally recognised Indian photographer. He is originally specialized in natural and wildlife photography but later turned to aerial photography of ...more

17

Byomakesh Mohanty Byomakesh Mohanty was an Indian artist and academic. After completing his science studies and graduating from Utkal University, he joined the faculty of visual arts at Banaras Hindu University.

18

Reema Bansal Reema Bansal is an Indian painter. Bansal took up painting at the age of three when she was encouraged by her family and enthused by her teachers. She persisted with the brush despite her ...more

19

Ratnadeep Adivrekar Ratnadeep Gopal Adivrerkar is a contemporary artist from India. He has had several important solo exhibitions including one at NUS Museum, Singapore, Galerie Sylvia Bernhardt, Germany and ...more

20

Shantanu Raj

21

Pranava Prakash Pranava Prakash is an Indian artist working in neopop style. He is known for helping to create the "tuchchart" style with a group of Delhi artists, which he debuted in a 2007 show in ...more

22

Lala Deen Dayal Lala Deen Dayal was an Indian photographer. His career began in the mid-1870s as a commissioned photographer; eventually he set up studios in Indore, Mumbai and Hyderbad. He became the court ...more

23

Benode Behari Mukherjee Binod Behari Mukherjee was an Indian artist from West Bengal state. Mukherjee was one of the pioneers of Indian modern art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. He was one of the earliest ...more

24

Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh CITY: Memory, Dreams, Desire Gulam Mohammed Sheikh is an internationally renowned painter, writer and art critic. He was awarded the prestigious Padmashri award in 1983 and Padmabhushan in 2014 for his contribution to art. ...more

25

S. H. Raza Les Champs, Surya Namaskar, Dhristi Syed Haider Raza Alias S.H. Raza is an Indian artist who has lived and worked in France since 1950, but maintains strong ties with India. His works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a ...more

26

Sobha Singh Heer-Ranjha, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Shri Guru Amar Dass Ji Sobha Singh was a well-known contemporary painter from Indian Punjab.

27

Chandrakant Mandare Lake, Landscape I, Sandhyamath Shalini Palace Chandrakant Mandhare was a well-known Marathi Film actor and an artist. He played different roles in Marathi films and devoted his life to art. He was a master in paintings and powder shading. ...more

28

Nek Chand Saini Nek Chand Saini is a self-taught Indian artist, known for building the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, an eighteen-acre sculpture garden in the city of Chandigarh, India. He hailed from Shakargarh ...more

29

Sukumar Ray Sukumar Ray was a Bengali humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. His works such as the collection of poems "Aboltabol", novella ...more

30

Amrita Sher-Gil Two Elephants, Hill Men, Bride's Toilet Amrita Sher-Gil was an eminent Indian painter born to a Punjabi Sikh father and a Hungarian Jewish mother, sometimes known as India's Frida Kahlo, and today considered an important woman painter ...more

31

Dayanita Singh Dayanita Singh is an Indian artist and bookmaker working with Photography, based in Delhi. She studied Visual Communication at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and Documentary ...more

32

Francis Newton Souza Manhattan Landscape, Birth, Nude in Profile Francis Newton Souza, commonly referred to as F. N. Souza, was an Indian artist. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay, and was the first post-independence Indian ...more

33

Jatin Das Working Woman II, Flight of Steel, Approaching Woman Jatin Das is an Indian painter and sculptor.

34

Ram Kinker Baij Statue of Rabindranath Tagore, Seascape A, Mill Call Ramkinkar Baij was an Indian sculptor and painter, one of the pioneers of modern Indian sculpture and a key figure of Contextual Modernism.

35

Paresh Maity Mystery, Musician Couple, Canticle of colour Paresh Maity is an Indian painter. He is a prolific painter in a short career span. In 2014, Government of India conferred upon him its fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri.

36

Paritosh Sen Woman Eating Bhutta, Conversation, Still Live 2 Paritosh Sen was a leading Indian artist. He was born in Dhaka, the present-day capital of Bangladesh. He was a founder member of the Calcutta Group, an art movement established in 1942 that did ...more

37

Devajyoti Ray The Journey, Freedom Demagogue, Couple Devajyoti Ray is an Indian painter and installation artist whose works attained significance in the post-liberalization phase of Indian economy. His works have been exhibited internationally and ...more

38

Sandip Ray Sandip Ray is an Indian film director who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the noted Bengali director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray.

39

B. S. Ranga Bindinganavile Srinivas Iyengar Ranga was an Indian photographer.

40

Vishnupant Govind Damle Vishnupant Govind Damle was a film director.

41

Devi Prasad Devi Prasad was an Indian artist and peace activist. He was a pioneering studio potter, painter, designer, photographer, art educator and peace activist.

42

Raghubir Singh Raghubir Singh was an Indian photographer, most known for his landscapes and documentary-style photographs of the people of India. He was a self-taught photographer who worked in India and lived ...more

43

Mukul Dey Coming through the Rye, Harken to the reed flute, Chitralekha House Mukul Chandra Dey was a student of Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan. He is considered as a pioneer of drypoint-etching in India. He was the first Indian artist to travel abroad for the purpose ...more

44

Shahu Modak Shahu Modak was an Indian actor who acted in many Hindi as well as Marathi movies. Shahu Modak was mostly famous for the mythological characters that he played. He mostly played the roles of ...more

45

Kurchi Dasgupta Kurchi Dasgupta is an Indian painter, writer and translator. She currently lives in Kathmandu, Nepal, where, in April 2008, she was witness to the abolition of the monarchy which had reigned in ...more

46

Satish Gujral Resurrection, Ganesha, Meera bai Satish Gujral is an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist, graphic designer, writer and architect of the post-independent era. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

47

Vasudeo S. Gaitonde Speech, Kultura, Two faces Vasudeo S. Gaitonde was regarded as one of India's foremost abstract painters. He completed his art diploma at Sir J. J. School of Art in 1948, and in 1950 was invited to join the influential ...more

48

Homai Vyarawalla Homai Vyarawalla, commonly known by her pseudonym "Dalda 13," was India's first woman photojournalist. First active in the late 1930s, she retired in the early 1970s. In 2011, she was ...more

49

Atul Dodiya Plumber, Four Friends, Dance Atul Dodiya is an Indian artist.

50

Jaideep Mehrotra Backtrack, Internally Yours (Hanuman), Neural Nirvana Jaideep Mehrotra is an Indian artist. He did his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer Starting his artistic career at a young age of 13, Mehrotra works across mediums like Oils, acrylics, cast ...more

1 Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain, also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s, and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru and spiritual ...more

2 Rabindranath Tagore Dancing Girl Rabindranath Tagore, also written Rabīndranātha Thākura, sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in ...more

3 Boman Irani Boman Irani is an Indian film and theatre actor, voice artist and photographer. He is widely known for his comedic and villain roles in Bollywood movies such as Don, Munna Bhai MBBS, 3 Idiots ...more

4 Idries Shah Idries Shah, also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen books on ...more

5 M. F. Husain Autobiography, Mother India, Between the Spider & the Lamp Maqbool Fida Husain commonly known as MF Husain, was an Indian painter and Film Director. In 1967, He has received the National Film Award for Best Experimental Film for Through The Eyes of a ...more

6 Sooni Taraporevala Sooni Taraporevala is an Indian screenwriter and photographer who is best known as the screenwriter of Mississippi Masala, The Namesake and Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay, all directed by Mira ...more

7 L. Shankar Lakshminarayana Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer. He has worked extensively in both traditional music from India, and in ...more

8 Dilip Chitre Dilip Purushottam Chitre was one of the foremost Indian writers and critics to emerge in the post Independence India. Apart from being a very important bilingual writer, writing in Marathi and ...more

9 Rupesh Patric Rupesh Xavier Patric is a self-trained artist. His medium is the charcoal sketch. He lives in Bangalore, India.

10 Jitish Kallat Analgesic Studies 01, Carbon Milk 9, Bon Voyage (flesh Jitish Kallat is a contemporary Indian artist. He currently lives and works in Mumbai, India.

11 Aziz Aziz is an Indian artist and painter from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He has pioneered the use of plaster of paris on canvas along with oil paints for a three-dimensional effect. His colour ...more

12 Cheenu Pillai Cheenu Pillai is a self-taught artists from chennai, India who blends European expressionism with dravidian themes.

13 Yamini Reddy Yamini Reddy is Indian classical dancer, a kuchipudi exponent.

14 Dabboo Ratnani Dabboo Ratnani is a leading Indian fashion photographer, known for his annual calendar which has become a highly notable showbiz event in India since its first publication in 1999. He is the ...more

15 Adyar K. Lakshman Adyar K. Lakshman was a noted Indian Bharatnatyam dancer, choreographer and guru.

16 Thakur Dalip Singh Thakur Dalip Singh is a renowned and internationally recognised Indian photographer. He is originally specialized in natural and wildlife photography but later turned to aerial photography of ...more

17 Byomakesh Mohanty Byomakesh Mohanty was an Indian artist and academic. After completing his science studies and graduating from Utkal University, he joined the faculty of visual arts at Banaras Hindu University.

18 Reema Bansal Reema Bansal is an Indian painter. Bansal took up painting at the age of three when she was encouraged by her family and enthused by her teachers. She persisted with the brush despite her ...more

19 Ratnadeep Adivrekar Ratnadeep Gopal Adivrerkar is a contemporary artist from India. He has had several important solo exhibitions including one at NUS Museum, Singapore, Galerie Sylvia Bernhardt, Germany and ...more

20 Shantanu Raj

21 Pranava Prakash Pranava Prakash is an Indian artist working in neopop style. He is known for helping to create the "tuchchart" style with a group of Delhi artists, which he debuted in a 2007 show in ...more

22 Lala Deen Dayal Lala Deen Dayal was an Indian photographer. His career began in the mid-1870s as a commissioned photographer; eventually he set up studios in Indore, Mumbai and Hyderbad. He became the court ...more

23 Benode Behari Mukherjee Binod Behari Mukherjee was an Indian artist from West Bengal state. Mukherjee was one of the pioneers of Indian modern art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. He was one of the earliest ...more

24 Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh CITY: Memory, Dreams, Desire Gulam Mohammed Sheikh is an internationally renowned painter, writer and art critic. He was awarded the prestigious Padmashri award in 1983 and Padmabhushan in 2014 for his contribution to art. ...more

25 S. H. Raza Les Champs, Surya Namaskar, Dhristi Syed Haider Raza Alias S.H. Raza is an Indian artist who has lived and worked in France since 1950, but maintains strong ties with India. His works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a ...more

26 Sobha Singh Heer-Ranjha, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Shri Guru Amar Dass Ji Sobha Singh was a well-known contemporary painter from Indian Punjab.

27 Chandrakant Mandare Lake, Landscape I, Sandhyamath Shalini Palace Chandrakant Mandhare was a well-known Marathi Film actor and an artist. He played different roles in Marathi films and devoted his life to art. He was a master in paintings and powder shading. ...more

28 Nek Chand Saini Nek Chand Saini is a self-taught Indian artist, known for building the Rock Garden of Chandigarh, an eighteen-acre sculpture garden in the city of Chandigarh, India. He hailed from Shakargarh ...more

29 Sukumar Ray Sukumar Ray was a Bengali humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. His works such as the collection of poems "Aboltabol", novella ...more

30 Amrita Sher-Gil Two Elephants, Hill Men, Bride's Toilet Amrita Sher-Gil was an eminent Indian painter born to a Punjabi Sikh father and a Hungarian Jewish mother, sometimes known as India's Frida Kahlo, and today considered an important woman painter ...more

31 Dayanita Singh Dayanita Singh is an Indian artist and bookmaker working with Photography, based in Delhi. She studied Visual Communication at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and Documentary ...more

32 Francis Newton Souza Manhattan Landscape, Birth, Nude in Profile Francis Newton Souza, commonly referred to as F. N. Souza, was an Indian artist. He was a founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group of Bombay, and was the first post-independence Indian ...more

33 Jatin Das Working Woman II, Flight of Steel, Approaching Woman Jatin Das is an Indian painter and sculptor.

34 Ram Kinker Baij Statue of Rabindranath Tagore, Seascape A, Mill Call Ramkinkar Baij was an Indian sculptor and painter, one of the pioneers of modern Indian sculpture and a key figure of Contextual Modernism.

35 Paresh Maity Mystery, Musician Couple, Canticle of colour Paresh Maity is an Indian painter. He is a prolific painter in a short career span. In 2014, Government of India conferred upon him its fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri.

36 Paritosh Sen Woman Eating Bhutta, Conversation, Still Live 2 Paritosh Sen was a leading Indian artist. He was born in Dhaka, the present-day capital of Bangladesh. He was a founder member of the Calcutta Group, an art movement established in 1942 that did ...more

37 Devajyoti Ray The Journey, Freedom Demagogue, Couple Devajyoti Ray is an Indian painter and installation artist whose works attained significance in the post-liberalization phase of Indian economy. His works have been exhibited internationally and ...more

38 Sandip Ray Sandip Ray is an Indian film director who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the noted Bengali director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray.

39 B. S. Ranga Bindinganavile Srinivas Iyengar Ranga was an Indian photographer.

40 Vishnupant Govind Damle Vishnupant Govind Damle was a film director.

41 Devi Prasad Devi Prasad was an Indian artist and peace activist. He was a pioneering studio potter, painter, designer, photographer, art educator and peace activist.

42 Raghubir Singh Raghubir Singh was an Indian photographer, most known for his landscapes and documentary-style photographs of the people of India. He was a self-taught photographer who worked in India and lived ...more

43 Mukul Dey Coming through the Rye, Harken to the reed flute, Chitralekha House Mukul Chandra Dey was a student of Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan. He is considered as a pioneer of drypoint-etching in India. He was the first Indian artist to travel abroad for the purpose ...more

44 Shahu Modak Shahu Modak was an Indian actor who acted in many Hindi as well as Marathi movies. Shahu Modak was mostly famous for the mythological characters that he played. He mostly played the roles of ...more

45 Kurchi Dasgupta Kurchi Dasgupta is an Indian painter, writer and translator. She currently lives in Kathmandu, Nepal, where, in April 2008, she was witness to the abolition of the monarchy which had reigned in ...more

46 Satish Gujral Resurrection, Ganesha, Meera bai Satish Gujral is an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist, graphic designer, writer and architect of the post-independent era. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

47 Vasudeo S. Gaitonde Speech, Kultura, Two faces Vasudeo S. Gaitonde was regarded as one of India's foremost abstract painters. He completed his art diploma at Sir J. J. School of Art in 1948, and in 1950 was invited to join the influential ...more

48 Homai Vyarawalla Homai Vyarawalla, commonly known by her pseudonym "Dalda 13," was India's first woman photojournalist. First active in the late 1930s, she retired in the early 1970s. In 2011, she was ...more

49 Atul Dodiya Plumber, Four Friends, Dance Atul Dodiya is an Indian artist.

50 Jaideep Mehrotra Backtrack, Internally Yours (Hanuman), Neural Nirvana Jaideep Mehrotra is an Indian artist. He did his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer Starting his artistic career at a young age of 13, Mehrotra works across mediums like Oils, acrylics, cast ...more