Born in Madhya Pradesh in 1922, SH Raza attended the Nagpur School of Art, Nagpur, (1939–43) then went on to pursue a degree at the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai. He spent much of his time in the 1950s at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His love for Paris and modernism blossomed and remained a life-long affair, while still maintaining a strong bond with India. Raza was awarded the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in 2007 and 2013 respectively. He was awarded the Lalit Kala Ratna Puraskar in 2004 by the Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi. He was also awarded the Legion of Honour by the Republic of France in 2015.