Born in 1910 in Purulia, West Bengal, Sunil Madhav Sen was a self-taught artist who initially acquired drawing skills from a local teacher during his childhood Despite studying law and liberal arts at Calcutta University and working for the government, he maintained a private pursuit of his passion for art Alongside his legal practice, Sen visited the studios of notable artists like Abanindranath Tagore, Atul Bose, J P Gangooly, and Satish Sinha Additionally, he apprenticed under Hemendranath Mazumdar for two years, refining his abilities in portrait painting

During his early years as an artist, Sen created charcoal studies of figures and animals, painted portraits, and replicated works by old European masters such as Guido Reni, Rembrandt, and El Greco The artist began his career initially by emulating the natural world While exploring the Santhal hills and Bhutan, he effortlessly captured the picturesque essence that seamlessly lent itself to artistic interpretation This inspiration was liberally translated into his works, including landscapes, depictions of folk dance, tribal life scenes, and particularly, portraiture Even during these early stages, Sen's artistic style was shaped by the influences of Kandinsky and Klee, evident in the abstract and expressionist language inherent in graphic art

Holding his inaugural solo exhibition in 1950, Sen became a member of the influential Calcutta Group in 1952 The group, founded in 1943 as a rejection of the Bengal School, aimed to depict the social and political realities of the times

Sen's artistic subjects included Nepalese women, Bhutia boys, everyday life, the marginalized, the Quit India movement, the Bengal famine, deities, and the captivating yet frightening aspects of children's dreams His artworks are now housed in collections at institutions such as the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, the Library of Congress in the USA, the New York Public Library, and the Bradford Museum