[1][4] He was the second son of Karim Bukhsh, who belonged to a prominent Punjabi Muslim family of artists descending from generations of craftsmen, architects, and decorators.

[5][6] Chughtai briefly learned naqqashi from his uncle Baba Miran Shah Naqqash at a local mosque.

[11] The Muraqqa-i-Chughtai was a sumptuously illustrated edition of Mirza Ghalib's Urdu poetry,[6] with a foreword by Sir Muhammad Iqbal.

It is regarded as the most significant work of Chughtai's career[2] and in its time, was considered the finest achievement in book production in the country.

Chughtai's paintings were given to visiting heads of state Allama Iqbal, Pablo Picasso, Elizabeth II was amongst his admirers.

[4][1] Chughtai's early watercolours take off from the revivalism of the Bengal School of Art[6] – his Jahanara and the Taj, for instance, shows the influence of Abanindranath's The Last Moments of Shah Jahan.

[citation needed] Chughtai's works are owned by the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi), the Peace Palace (in The Hague), United Nations Headquarters, New York, the Kennedy Memorial in Boston, the US State Department (in Washington, D.C.), President's House Bonn, AP State Archaeology Museum,[13] Queen Juliana's Palace in the Netherlands, Emperor's Palace Bangkok, President House Islamabad, Governors' Houses in Lahore and Karachi, and the National Art Gallery, Islamabad.

[14] United Nations Organization art correspondent Jacob-Baal Teshuva wrote that Chughtai's paintings are the largest set released in 1948.