Born in the year 1880 in a province of Bengal Presidency, Bhavani Charan Law, initially joined the Government School of Art in Calcutta. However after studying for a while there, Law along with fellow artists Hemendranath Mazumdar and Atul Bose became disgruntled with Principal Havell's program to Indianize art. Things became more than bearable, when, in 1911, during the visit of the King of England, students were asked to design, build and decorate a celebratory gate as a loyal welcome to the arriving monarch.In defiance to this imposition they quit the Institution and joined the Jubilee Art Academy, established by Ranadaprasad Gupta in 1897. Law also trained under the artist Kunjalal Chakravarty.

The bitter episode at the former establishment instilled in the young minds a necessity to follow individual instincts rather than feign blindfolded loyalty to any particular movement or group. With the passing of time the artists stood vindicated, as both Law and Majumdar received both critical acclamation as well as monetary success, a rare phenomenon in early twentieth century.

An accomplished draughtsman in his own right, Law painted both in watercolor and oil paint. Although his subject matter tended to be inspired by the Indian epics, he was also recognized as a distinguished portrait painter of his time. In recognition of his talent the Royal households of India commissioned him on several occasions. Law's stature as a master of oil painting is justified by the two paintings, both portraits on canvas, included in this auction.

'Seated young woman with a water pot', depicts a rural beauty of Bengal modestly attired in a traditional red-bordered saree. In her hand she clasps a brass water pot and appears to be sitting on the steps of a pond lost in silent contemplation. Her well-defined features are lightly illuminated which in turn emphasizes her forlorn expression.