Background
Maskey was born in Kathmandu to a Newar family that traditionally served as officials in the government.
Maskey was born in Kathmandu to a Newar family that traditionally served as officials in the government.
He abandoned family tradition and chose art as a career. From 1918 to 1923, Maskey studied art at the Government School of Art, Kolkata.
Maskey spearheaded the trend of creating art using new techniques for its aesthetic value, and introduced a new style in the milieu of traditional art which is essentially religious and follows descriptions laid down in ancient texts. He was also one of the very few Nepalese artists to get an opportunity to study modern art abroad, as the autocratic Rana regime kept tight control on modern education. In those days, the king was a nominal ruler while the Rana prime minister for life held actual power.
He was among the first two officially recognized art teachers in Nepal.
The other was Tej Bahadur Chitrakar (1898-1971). After returning to Kathmandu, Maskey held the first ever one-man exhibition in Nepal in 1928.
He also began teaching art at Durbar High School and Padma Kanya Girls High School. Maskey aroused the anger of the Rana regime by starting a public school, and it looked for an opportunity to punish him.
In 1940, he was convicted of drawing an anti-Rana cartoon and sentenced to 18 years in jail and all his property was confiscated.
Maskey served five years and was released in 1945. Maskey drew the paintings to illustrate the epic entitled Sugata Saurabha which was published when they were both released. Two years after being released from prison, Maskey resumed teaching at Padma Kanya Girls High School.
Maskey has served as the director of Nepal National Museum, Department of Culture and Archaeology and National Zoo, and adviser to the Nepal Association of Fine Arts (NAFA).
Maskey"s paintings have been described as a chronicle of Nepalese life and culture. He has painted everyday scenes of rural Nepal as well as ceremonies and celebrations.