Mahmudul Haque, a prominent artist of Bangladesh was born in 1945 in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. His introduction to art was as a child through illustrations in his textbooks. His upbringing played an important role in becoming an artist. His love and attraction to colors and form developed at an early age which resulted in his enrolling in the Government Art Institute in Dhaka. He completed his honors degree in 1968. He went to Japan for a four-year post-graduation in printmaking from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, in 1984 upon receiving a government scholarship.
He joined Fine Arts Institute, Dhaka University in 1969 and retired in 2010 as a professor in the department of printmaking. He also served as a teacher in Japan, the USA, Pakistan, Nepal, and India. In 1998, he became the director of the then Institute of Fine Art and in 2004, he was appointed director-general of the Bangladesh National Museum.
His many awards are the Best Painting Award, Tsuchiura City, Japan (1982), the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Award (1992), Honourable Mention Award, Asian Art Biennale (1991 to 1997), Lalit Kala Academy Purchase Award, India (1994), 12th Kuwait International Biennale Award (1996) and S M Sultan Padak (2006). Mahmudul Haque lives and works in Dhaka.