Mazumdar was a figurative painter trained in the European academic style.
Hemendranath Mazumdar resisted the ‘Indianizing’ trends of the Bengal School and adopted the European academic style of painting in Kolkata. In 1929, he founded the ‘Indian Academy of Art’ at his own residence, where he was actively involved in the academy’s activities along with other artists like Jamini Roy and Atul Bose.
He rejected the influences of the ideals of Abanindranath Tagore’s Neo-Bengal School, despite being his close associate. He was acclaimed for his fine treatment of pastels, watercolours and chalks, though his real forte’ was in handling the medium of oil painting

Hemendranath Mazumdar, Study of Miss Shelly Gupta

Hemendranath Mazumdar, The Toilet
His main motif was sensuality.
One of the main motifs in his paintings was sensuality, rather than eroticism, and must be defined as a particular approach of perceiving the world. This technique can be described as sensual studies of women. Paintings of semi - nude females would not have been accepted by the Indian society and he adapted his works to suit the audience of his times. Mazumdar maintained a sense of aesthetic modesty in his works as he tended to hint at nudity by draping his models in semi- transparent or wet saris.
His paintings exuded such a sensual aura that even film-makers like Raj Kapoor was said to be strongly influenced by Hemendranath's paintings. The cast in some of his films were dressed in a manner straight out of Hemendranath's canvases.

Hemendranath Mazumdar, Untitled (Manas Kamal), oil on canvas, 122.2 x 61 cm
Mazumdar depicted women in multi-faceted ways.

Hemendranath Mazumdar, Untitled (Seated Woman), 1930, oil on canvas, 28 1/8 x 22”
Mazumdar was admired for his fine treatment of pastels, watercolours and chalks, but his real proficiency lay in the way he used the oil medium. He produced several sketches and watercolour drawings on paper as his preparatory work before creating a full sized oil painting.

Hemendranath Mazumdar, Untitled, 20 x 12”