Sanat Kar was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1939. He joined the Government College of Art and Craft in 1950. Two years later, he formed a group called The Artists Circle. He graduated from the art college in 1955. He initially taught at Calcutta Boys School. He also taught at Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan for some time. He played a significant role in the formation of the Society of Contemporary Artists in 1960.

His paintings are full of innocence and poetry. He creates visual magic with the help of grainy surfaces, the mottled, scratched and doodled lines. He lives and works in Kolkata.