In 1910, he took admission to the Holkar College, Indore and in 1933, he passed his Bachelor of Arts examination from Agra University. In 1934, he passed his Diploma in Painting from the State School of Art, Indore. From 1936 to 1939 he worked as a painter and journalist for the government of kashmir.
During this period he created sketches of the scenic landscapes of the kashmir valley.
There after he set up in Bombay as a freelance artist. He did portraits, mural wall painting as well.
In 1945, he went to Shantiniketan and worked with Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij, and Binode Behari Mukherjee. In 1950 he joined the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara as the first Reader and Head of the Department of Painting.
Later he became the Dean of the Faculty.
He left the University in 1966. Despite such exceptional career he worked for the underprivileged people whenever possible. After Independence when firebrand freedom fighter and social worker from Indore Guru Radha Kishan took the initiative to bring the first Janta Library in Delhi, which was inaugurated by Balraj Sahni along with Amrita Pritam, Santosh Anand and Aruna Asaf Ali, he along with another legendary painter BR Gurjar participated and contributed accordingly.
This study centre cum library is still running with a social centre at Guru Radha Kishan Smarak Bhavan, Clock Tower, Delhi.
He Died in Bombay on 19 February 1992. He is well known as the supreme landscapist, a composer and master of colours.
He was immensely influenced by miniature painting. He visited the United States, England, France and Belgium in 1947-1948.
lieutenant was during the visit that he studied and imbibed modern art
Assimilating this western influence he created a niche for himself in the field of art by innovating a style all his own. He successfully carried out innovative experiments depicting subtle themes ranging from everyday life to the abstract. He never believed in restricting his imagination to the rigid framework of colour, line or form.
"Hairdo"(1949), "The Sunflower"(1955), "Monkey"(1957), "The Cow and the Calf"(1948), The Female Cowherd"(1956), "Homebound", "The Bullock Cart".