Wu Zuoren was born in Jing county, Anhui province. He started to study in the Department of Fine Arts at Shanghai Art University in 1927, and in the following year he continued his learning first at Shanghai Nanguo Art Academy and then at Xu Beihong’s Studio of the Department of Art at National Central University. In 1930, he went to France for further studies. He studied in the Lucien Simon Studio of the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France ( École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris) and went to the Bastien Studio at the Royal Academy,Belgium (Académie royale de Belgique) as a recipient of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship. In 1931, he got the highest score in the composition section in the comprehensive assessment of sculpture, surpassing all of his peers in the same academy. Wu returned to China in 1935 and became a lecturer in the Department of Art at National Central University. From 1946 to 1949, he was a professor, Academic Registrar and Director of the Department of Painting at National Beiping Art College. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, he served successively as professor, academic registrar, vice-president, president, and honorary president of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, the vice-chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the president of the China Artists Association. He also founded and sponsored Wu Zuoren International Foundation of Fine Arts, a philanthropic organization.