Huỳnh Văn Thuận was born in Saigon on 18 April 1921, into a family with no arts tradition. After passing the entrance exam, Thuận moved to Hanoi in 1939 and joined the 13th intake of the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine. He graduated in 1944 and soon joined the resistance movement against the French, producing propaganda art works to support the Việt Minh. In 1953, along with artists Lê Phả and Bùi Trang Chước, Thuận worked for the State Bank of Vietnam and created the first portraits of Hồ Chí Minh for the country’s new banknotes. After war ended in 1975, and having spent 30 years in the north of Vietnam, Thuận returned to Saigon - newly renamed as Ho Chi Minh City - and became Chief of the Southern Department of Fine Arts.