Paritosh Sen was a pioneering Indian modernist painter, illustrator, writer, and art critic. He ran away from his home in Dacca (now in Bangladesh) to learn art in Madras. Until the 1940s, he was largely unaware of European modern art trends. His first encounters with reproductions of Vincent van Gogh, Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and other masters, which occurred during his teaching at Art College in Indore, sparked his interest in form. In 1942, the Calcutta Group, with Paritosh Sen as a founding member, held its only exhibition. However, Sen’s visit to Paris in 1949 brought him closer to European art and artists. Meeting Pablo Picasso was a landmark event in his life. After returning to India in 1954, he began teaching and producing paintings with themes derived from everyday life. In 1986, he wrote and illustrated a story in English that NID published in Ahmedabad. The French government honoured him with the title of L'Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2004, Lalit Kala Akademi recognised him with the title of Lalit Kala Ratna.