Born on 15 February, 1924, in Kerala, Subramanyan studied under the tutelage of Benode Behari Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose and Ramkinkar Baij at Santiniketan. He graduated from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University, there in 1948 after receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the Presidency College in Chennai. In 1955, he received a British Council Research Fellowship to the Slade School of Art at the University of London.

Since his graduation, Subramanyan's work has been exhibited in over fifty solo shows, the most recent including those presented by Seagull Foundation for the Arts in collaboration with Nandan Gallery at Kala Bhavana, Kolkata, in 2009; 'The Painted Platters' at the Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; and...