Amitava Das was born in New Delhi in 1947 and graduated from the Delhi College of Art in 1972. His work is primarily based on human situations, where man is both the creator and the destroyer. The natural and artificial are cleverly fused to show the interdependence of the man-made and natural worlds. He tries to bring out the inner struggles of men placed in difficult times.

Amitava is best known for his existential vision of human forms in his work. 

From the gentleness and resignation in his earlier works, he moved on to canvases that depict the violence and avarice of modern times. Working with a variety of mediums, Amitava uses watercolours, oils, and pastels to portray his thoughts and feelings evoked by his observations of the life around him. In the 70’s Amitava co-founded the New Group, a Delhi based artists collective.