Ramkinkar Baij was born in 1906 in Bankura, West Bengal.

In 1929 he received his Diploma in Fine Arts from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. In 1934 he joined as Faculty at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan.

Ramkinkar had several solo shows, joint and group exhibitions:
From 1942 - 1947 he exhibited solo shows in New Delhi. In 1960 he exhibited solo in Paintings, Sketches & Sculptures at Calcutta Arts Council, Kolkata. In 1944 he had a joint exhibition with Binod Behari Mukherjee at Massay Hall, New Delhi. In 1960, 1961 and 1978 he had solo exhibitions at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. In 1972 he showcased solo at Birla Academy of Art & Culture – Kolkata. In 1950 and 1951 he participated in a group show at Salon de Realities Nouvelle, Paris. In 1951 he participated in a group exhibition at the Calcutta Group Exhibition in Kolkata.

He won several awards:
In 1945 the Government of Nepal invited him to make Buddhist Sculptures. In 1955 the Government of India invited him to make Yaksha and Yakshi Sculpture for Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi. In 1970 he was conferred with Padma Bhushan from the Government of India at New Delhi. In 1977 he won the Deshi Uttam Award by Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. In 1979 he received the Doctor of Letters Award from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan.

Ramkinkar passed away in 1980 in Kolkata.

He was posthumously exhibited in several exhibitions: In 1990 he was exhibited in Retrospective at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. In 1995 he was exhibited in Man and Nature: Reflections on Six Artists and in 1997 he was showcased in Santiniketan: The making of a Contextual Modernism at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. From 2003 – 2005 he was posthumously exhibited in Manifestations I - III at Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi and Mumbai and in 2010 and 2011 he was exhibited in Manifestations IV - VI at Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 2008 he was exhibited posthumously in Santhal Family: Positions Around an Indian Sculpture at Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Belgium and was showcased in Moderns at Royal Cultural Centre, Amman in Jordan. In 2011 he was posthumously exhibited in Ethos V: Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980) at Indigo Blue Art, Singapore and was showcased in Time Unfolded at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi. In 2012 he was showcased in Ramkinkar Baij: A Retrospective at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and was exhibited in Gallery Collection at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 2013 he was exhibited in The Naked and the Nude: The Body in Indian Modern Art at Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi.