Somnath Hore was born in a village called Barama in Chittagong in present day Bangladesh in 1921. While he was still very young, he started making posters for the Communist party. It was with the help of the leader of this party that he was admitted into the Government College of Art & Craft.

Hore handled a number of jobs in various capacities. From 1954 to 1958 he was a lecturer at the Indian College of Art and Draughtsmanship in Calcutta. Thereafter, till 1967, he held posts like the “in-charge of the Graphic section” at the Delhi College of Art, visiting faculty at the MS University in Baroda and the head of the Graphic Art department of Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati. In 1960, he became a member of the Society of Contemporary Artists.

The anguished human form has widely been reflected in Hore’s figuration. The visual appeal of his work is increased by the rough surfaces, slits, holes and exposed channels.