Santosh Kumar Verma was born in Varanasi in 1956 He went on to complete his MFA from the Faculty of Visual Arts, Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi He was first inspired to become an artist by nature and the local craftspeople in his village who created pottery and toys Many of his works are an attempt at replicating his childhood memories in the contemporary context, and he is inspired by several artists, both young and old, in the creation of his visual language

Over his three-decade long artistic career, Verma has been the recipient of several illustrious awards including the National Academy Award by the Lalit Kala Akademi in 2001, the AIFACS Award in 2000 and 2001, the Bharat Bhawan Award in 1992 and Sahitya Kala Parishad Award in 1995 He also received a Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, GOI in 2003 He has exhibited his work across the country, notable of which are Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal, AIFACS in New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi Golden Jubilee Celebration, Sahitya Kala Parishad and the Annual National Exhibition