Somnath Hore (1921-2006) was born in Chittagong, now in Bangladesh. In his youth he became affiliated with the Communist Party, and his socialist ideologies influenced the early phases of his artistic career.

Hore learned the methods and nuances of printmaking, mainly lithography and intaglio, at the Government College of Art and Craft in Calcutta. By the 1950s he was regarded as the premier printmaker in India. Hore invented and developed various printmaking techniques of his own, including his famous pulp- print technique.

His sketches, sculptures and prints were a reaction to major historical crises and events of 20th century Bengal, such as the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the Tebhaga movement (1946).