Ambadas was born in Akola, Maharashtra, in 1922 and received his early art training at a private art school in Ahmedabad run by artist Ravi Shankar Raval. After three years of studying landscape and figurative art, he moved to Bombay and enrolled at Sir J. J. School of Art in 1947. He completed his diploma in 1952 alongside artists such as Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, and Mohan Samant.
Influenced by Gandhian values, simple living, and a search for higher purpose, Ambadas developed a distinctive artistic outlook. His work as a handloom textile designer at the Weavers’ Service Centre took him to Madras and New Delhi. In Delhi, he became associated with J. Swaminathan, Rajesh Mehra, and Himmat Shah and joined the founding members of Group 1890 in 1962, which explored new directions in modern Indian art.
