Nandalal Bose's life as an artist developed many facets. He made no distinction between the big and the small. The goat of this earth and the horse of heaven were of equal interest to him. When he sketched the 'Goat', which was dear to Gandhiji, 'Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem about it. He said in the poem, "0 Shepherd, this is not a goat which you tend, this is a new creation."

Art for the people's sake - which was his principle. He wanted the common people to have paintings in their homes. Once when he went to Banupur he drew a number of pictures and sold them at four annas (25 paise) a picture. When Abanindranath heard of this eccentricity he went to Banupur and bought the whole lot.

Rabindranath Tagore was very fond of Nandalal Bose. He used to ask again and again, "Nanda, when are you coming?" When Nandalal Bose took charge of the Art Department at Santiniketan, Rabindranath Tagore was extremely happy. Tagore honored Nandalal Bose with a welcome song.

Bose's students always addressed him as 'Master Maashay'. Bose treated them with great affection. He encouraged his students to follow their imagination and taste. His pure life, his devotion to art, his gentle speech, his tenderness and delightful humor made him dear to his students.

When Abanindranath saw Nandalal Bose's 'Swayamvara of Damayanthi' he said, "I can smell the sweet scent wafted from the marriage mantapa." (A mantapa is a special structure for an auspicious occasion.) The Japanese artist Okakura commented on Bose's painting 'Agni' (Fire): "It has every thing, but the only thing it lacked was fire."

Nandalal Bose painted tirelessly. Once he spent a month in winter in Rabindranath Tagore's estate. The river Padma was frozen. Bose went on painting the beautiful scenery. Finally he had no material left.

Sister Nivedita persuaded him to make copies of the Ajantha Frescoes. (Ajantha is a village in Maharashtra. In the caves near this village there are great paintings on the walls and ceilings.) Venkatappa, Halder and Samarendra Gupta went with him to assist him. Then he made copies of the frescoes of the Bagh caves in Gwalior. The frescoes in Saranath were very dear to him. Since he was not a Buddhist, he was not given permission to make copies. This made him sad.