A prominent artist and Professor, A. P. Santhanaraj was born in 1932. He completed his education from College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai started teaching there in the 1950s and retired as the principal from the same institution. The quality of line was one of the most defining aspects of his style of painting. His manner of painting was the child of his unconventional and idiosyncratic thought process. The artist in his paintings had explored different fundamental dimensions of the artistic expressions. His works have been exhibited and showcased at different places like Kumar Gallery, New Delhi in 1958, 1996 & 2001; Commonwealth Art Exhibition in London; a retrospective in Delhi by CMC Gallery in 1990 and several one man shows. His works were also exhibited at various state and national art exhibitions. He was felicitated with many awards and accolades in his lifetime for his dynamic and inspiring works. These include National Award in 1957 and 1962; Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala Akademi Award, 1982; Kalai Chemmal Award, 1987; Kalamamani Shiromani Award by the government of Tamil Nadu in 1996; Kala Ratna Award by AIFACS, New Delhi, 1997 and many others. He also executed portraits for the Parliament House, New Delhi as well as murals for the Madras State Museum during his lifetime. The artist died in 2009.