Lalu Prasad Shaw was born in Bengal in 1937, and completed his education in fine arts at the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata. Known widely for his highly stylized portraits of Bengali women and couples, Lalu Prasad Shaw's works lay the most emphasis on his subject's physical characteristics. Lalu Prasad Shaw works mainly in gouache or tempera. His style is unique and modern in its adaptation of academic and traditional Indian formats. Influenced by the pre-independence Company School of art, the traditional Kalighat Pat and the Ajanta cave paintings, his works are simple and graceful, having a very still, well-composed and smooth exterior.