Nandalal Bose was born in 1882 in Bihar.

From 1903 - 1905 he studied at Presidency College, Kolkata. From 1905 – 1910 he studied in Government School of Art And Craft, Kolkata. In 1919 he joined Kala Bhavan as a teacher in Santiniketan, West Bengal. From 1922 - 1951 he remained the first principal of Kala Bhavan, Viswa Bharathi University at Santiniketan.

Nandalal had several solo exhibitions:
In 1908, 1910 1912, 1915 and 1916 he had solo exhibitions at Indian Society of Oriental Art, Kolkata. In 1909 he had a solo exhibition at Indian Society of Oriental Art, Shimla. In 1911 he had one man show at Indian Society of Oriental Art in Allahabad and had a solo ‘Festival of Empire’ at Crystal Palace, England. In 1914 he participated in 22nd Exhibition of Societe des Peintres Orientalistes Francais at Grand Palais, Paris. In 1924, 1928, 1937 and 1954 he had solo exhibitions in Geneva at Switzerland and USA. In 1954 he had a retrospective in Calcutta and Geneva, Switzerland.

Nandalal won many awards and honors:
In 1950 he was conferred the D.Litt. Degree by Benaras Hindu University, Benaras. In 1957 he was conferred the D.Litt. Degree and the title of Deshikottama’ by Visva Bharathi University at Santiniketan. In 1954 he was awarded Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India. In 1958 he received the Silver Jubilee Medal from Academy of Fine Arts. In 1965 he received Tagore Birth Centenary Medal from Asiatic Society of Bengal. In 1966

Nandalal Bose passed away in Kolkata.

In 1976 his works were declared National Art Treasure under the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act 1972, Government of India and are non-exportable.

Nandalal was posthumously exhibited in India and overseas:
In 1982 he was showcased in ‘Centenary Retrospective Exhibition’ at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. In 1987 his works were exhibited in Festival of India in USSR and Switzerland. In 1988 his works were exhibited in Takaoka Municipal Museum of Art and Meguro Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan. In 1988 he was exhibited in Olympiad of Art in Seoul, South Korea and at Kala Yatra at Santiniketan. In 1991 he was exhibited in ‘National Exposition of Contemporary Art’ in National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. In 1992 Nandalal was exhibited in Nandan Art Gallery, Santiniketan. In 1993 his works were exhibited in NGMA in New Delhi and Kolkata. In 1994 and 1995 he was exhibited in Kolkata; In 1995 his works were showcased at Le Monde de L’Art in Paris and Gallery Raku, Kyoto in Japan. In 1995 and 1997 his works were exhibited at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. In 2008 ‘Rhythms of India: The Art of Nandalal Bose (1882 - 1966)’ was organised in San Diego Museum of Art & Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA. In 2009 his works were exhibited in ‘In Search of the Vernacular’ at Aicon Gallery, New York. In 2009 his works were showcased at Emily Lowe Gallery, Hempstead. In 2011 - 2012 his works ‘The Body Unbound’ were showcased in Rubin Museum of Art, New York. In 2012 - 2013 he was showcased in a joint exhibition with Benode Behari Mukherjee at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.