Kulwant Aurora

Kulwant was the most wonderful friend and inspiration for many,many years. His wisdom, boundless curiosity and great humour are some of the great gifts that he left us. All who knew him were touched by his tremendous generosity of spirit and his breadth of knowledge of art and music and life. He remains for me a great example of how to live fully and constantly engage with the world in the most honest and open way. It was a privilege to have known him and to have spent so many great hours in his company. Desmond Healy

Very sorry to hear this, Kulwant was a lovely man and a long standing family friend , and a great friend of my mothers [Merilyn Thorold] Marcus Thorold

I met Kulwant in a life class at Hampstead School of Art. I watched his delicate, subtle drawings and pastel colours emerge on the page! He gave me a lift as we lived close to each other. I heard his stories of his life.He came to tea and talked of his school in Lahore, his father, a doctor with the railway, his mother who demonstrated to support Ghandi! He described his train journey from Lahore to Delhi in the partition. He was a great storyteller! He talked about his days at the Slade, his work in Adult Education and of course his passion for Art! What a wonderful friendship and a wonderful long life! We will miss him.

I was one of the students in the class at Hampstead School of Art where Kulwant also was. He was always there,sitting in the same place making pastel pictures. In talking to him I found out something about his life in art as the head of an Ilea art section. I was very touched by the way he helped me, suggesting books, bringing a newspaper cutting and making me a viewfinder. His presence in the class was so valuable. He will be greatly missed.

I am very glad to have met Kulwant as he was such a remarkable person, very gracious and gentle, with an enormous knowledge about art. He gave me helpful advice on more than one occasion, practical advice about framing and instructive advice about the anatomy of the life model. We celebrated his ninetieth birthday in the life class and then six years later it was wonderful to see him again at Hilary’s this summer, very deaf now but just as interesting and full of life as ever, with that twinkle in his eye that made him such good company. He was a truly inspiring person.

Goodbye my old friend. I will miss you. You will forever be part of my life as you were a large part of my husband Avinash Chandra’s life. RIP

I remember when I was young, it was impossible to lose Kulwant in a crowd. His signature tweed cap meant I always knew who to follow or find my way back to. One of my fondest memories is sitting at breakfast with him in his iconic seventies dressing gown in his kitchen, where he would proceed to ceremoniously drink tea & dip only half a digestive biscuit into it. A diet which really did guarantee him a long and healthy life. At our house, he would regularly wander off into the garden to find a shady spot to do some industrious sketching or painting, encapsulating nature in all its glory. That is how I would like to remember Kulwant. Just gone off down the garden, see you later <3

Isabel H Langtry’s (Principal Hampstead School of Art) letter ‘Kulwart, a pillar of strength’ published in Camden New Journal Thursday 8 January 2026) inspired me to search for this gentleman/his creations online. Wow. Fabulous love of the people he depicted with equally fabulous use of paint. Radiant. Am so glad to know of Kulwart Aurora. Am so sorry to learn of his death. And, pleased to know of all he did to help/encourage others/art in this country. Isabel Langtry’s letter apposite. Please may my tribute to he, his family, and others add to his memory/legacy of all that he created & those he touches/d.