J. A. Lalkaka began his artistic training at the J. J. School of Art in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1903. In 1908, he arrived in London after being sent to Europe by his grandfather Sir Navroji Vakil to complete his artistic education. Lalkaka attended the St John’s Wood and Westminster Art Schools, both seen as preparatory institutions to gain admittance to the Royal Academy Schools. He also spent some time in Paris. In 1913, Lalkaka returned to India and set up his own studio in Bombay. He painted mainly portraits which were popular with the governing elite. Lalkaka’s work was supported by Viceroys Irwin and Willingdon in particular.

In 1929, it was decided that the Viceroy’s Palace (now the Rashrapati Bhavan) in New Delhi should be decorated with paintings and an exhibition was held of 1,500 works of art by 200 artists. Edwin Lutyens, the architect, in consultation with the Viceroy chose Lalkaka from this exhibition, along with Atul Bose, to travel to England to paint royal portraits. Lalkaka’s portrait of George V was particularly prized. He returned to India in 1931 and was honoured by a reception given by the Art Society of India. He was closely associated with the J.J. School of Art and became the first Indian to be appointed its Vice-President in 1931. His work can now be found in galleries in Delhi and Mumbai.

Atul Bose was a portrait painter from Bengal. Bose studied at the Jubilee Academy in Calcutta and then at the government art school, and began his career as a penniless artist doing sundry artistic jobs in Bengal. Bose's Bengal Tiger, a sketch of the educationist Asutosh Mukherjee, earned him a scholarship to the Royal Academy in London. The sketch was used by The Times Literary Supplement in their obituary of Mukherjee in 1924 (30 May 1924).

Bose spent two years, 1924-6, at the Royal Academy. He was heavily influenced there by the post-impressionist Walter Sickert. He refused an invitation to help decorate the pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 with Mukul Dey. Upon his return to India, Bose taught at the government art school in Calcutta. However, he became unhappy there with the appointment of Mukul Dey in 1928. In 1929, the Government of India announced an all-India competition to produce copies of the royal portraits at Windsor Castle for the Viceroy's new residence in New Delhi. The architect Edwin Lutyens chose Bose and J. A. Lalkaka for this prize and they went to England in 1930. Lutyens even asked Bose to draw his likeness.

Bose became Principal of the Calcutta art school in 1945, a position he kept for two years. Partha Mitter believes that Bose's lasting achievement was his involvement with the (Indian) Academy of Fine Arts. In 1939, Bose had his first retrospective in Calcutta, which was reviewed favourably by Shahid Suhrawardy.