Narayan Shridhar Bendre was born in 1910 in Indore. He received his initial training in fine arts from the State Art School, Indore. In 1933 he obtained the Government Diploma in Art from Bombay. His initial creations were mainly concentrated on the quasi-modemist landscape painting. This technique of painting Bendre learnt from the Indore School, in the beginning of the 20th century. Narayan Shridhar Bendre was an avid traveller. Throughout his career he persisted in painting the landscape, often with different stylistic means.

In 1934, he was awarded the Silver Medal from the Bombay Art Society. It was one of his earliest recognitions. After that he obtained the ultimate honour in painting, the Gold Medal in 1941. A portion of 1945 Bendre spent as an artist in his residence in Shantiniketan. There he had the auspicious opportunity to meet Nandalal Bose, Ram Kinkar Baij, Binode Behari Mukherjee and later in Calcutta, Jamini Roy. Narayan Shridhar Bendre`s early works can be classified as being very much academic and impressionistic. The prevailing subject matter of his paintings is landscape and portrait. He used oil and gouache to sketch his paintings.

Narayan Shridhar Bendre returned to Mumbai in 1947. Later he presented a solo exhibition at the Windermere Gallery, New York, in 1948. Bendre journeyed through Europe on his way back to India. In his tour however he gained exposure to the original works of the modernist masters. In March 1948, a group of Progressive Artists conveyed greetings to him on his return. In 1950, Narayan Shridhar Bendre moved to Baroda and joined as the first Reader and Head of the Department of Painting, in the Faculty of Fine Arts. Later he became the Dean of the Faculty in 1959. He remained in the post, adorning it till the end of 1966.

Narayan Shridhar Bendre played an instrumental role in laying the foundations of a new programme in the faculty. During his time, he passed through a phase that had come his way as the most important chapter of his life. During this stage he had experimented with Cubist, Expressionist and abstract tendencies, producing works like Thorn (1955, National Award winner), Sunflowers, The Parrot and the Chameleon. All these works of Narayan Shridhar Bendre provides evidence of his shifting loyalties towards the flow in mainstream European modernism. He has also expressed his strive to officiate these with Indian formal and thematic thoughtfulness.

Narayan Shridhar Bendre continued his journey both in India and globally. In 1958, he visited West Asia and London, after which USA and Japan followed in 1962. Narayan Shridhar Bendre carried the adventure of modernism from Bombay to Baroda. This `adventure of modernism` bore fruit in the formation of the Baroda Group of artists in 1956. Apart from Bendre, many of his first generation students were members of the Group in Baroda. The group holds shows in Bombay, Ahmedabad and Baroda on a regular basis. With their shows, the works produced by the new art school however managed to fetch a wide exposure. After his resignation from Baroda in 1966, Bendre experimented with his interpretation of artistic movement and held shows in Bombay every alternate year. In 1969, he was awarded Padamshri by the President of India. Narayan Shridhar Bendre was selected to preside over the International Jury in 1971 at the Second Triennale in New Delhi and as fellow of the Lalit Kala Academi in 1974. His renowned carrier was greeted further with a Retrospective Exhibition at the Lalit Kala Academi, held in 1974. He received the Aban-Gagan Award from Viswa Bharati University in 1984, and the Kalidas Samman in 1984. Narayan Shridhar Bendre continues to paint till he passed away in February 18th 1992.