Born in Lyallpur in 1925, Krishen Khanna stands as one of India’s most celebrated modernists and a distinguished member of the Progressive Artists’ Group. Largely self-taught, he left a flourishing banking career to embrace art, transforming his experiences of Partition, displacement, and urban life into poignant visual narratives. His works echo with empathy, memory, and human resilience.
Khanna’s artistic language weaves figurative storytelling with expressive abstraction. Through recurring themes such as the Bandwallahs, Truckwallahs, and reinterpretations of biblical scenes, he explores the complexities of identity, faith, and labour. Richly textured surfaces, earthy tonalities, and dynamic brushwork lend his canvases emotional depth and movement. Deeply humanistic in vision, his art bridges modernism with social consciousness. Honoured with the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, Krishen Khanna remains a master whose timeless oeuvre mirrors the soul and spirit of post-Independence India.