Sunil Das was born in 1939 in Kolkata. He studied at the Government College of Arts and Craft, Calcutta. He also won the French Government Scholarship to study at the Ecole National des Beaux Arts in 1960. He has 50 solo shows to his credit. The artist has  participated in several exhibitions in India and abroad. His works have been included in the Biennales of Paris, Dacca, and Tokyo.

He has served as Commissioner to the Sao Paulo Biennale and was member of the jury of the Pfix des Etrangeres, Paris. Sunil Das received National Award ( the Shiromani Kala Puraskar ) in 1959. Infact, he has the distinction of being the only Indian artist to have won a National Award, while still an undergraduate at the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata.  His works hold an important place in several collections in India as well as abroad.