She is a distinguished Indian painter and has been exhibited since 1974 across the globe. Her artistic perspective was influenced by Punjab literature and writers such as Shiv Batalvi, Amrita Pritam, and Krishna Sobti. Her subjects remain firmly rooted in the quotidian world of the woman, showing women engaged in acts such as daydreaming or typing. Arpana Caur spent her college years studying literature; as an artist, she is largely self-taught. Her solo exhibitions took place in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, and Chennai and also internationally at galleries in London, Glasgow, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Singapore, New York, and in Stockholm and Copenhagen National Museum. Her work can be seen in Museums of Modern Art in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Dusseldorf, Singapore, Bradford, Stockholm, Hiroshima, MOCA LA, Peabody Boston, Asian Art Museum San Fransisco, and Victoria and Albert Museum London. She has been extensively written about filmed, invited to various countries, and awarded, including a gold medal in VIth International Triennale 1986 in Delhi. Other awards that she was awarded are Eminent Artist, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (1992,91,90,89), Commendation Certificate, Algiers Biennale, Algiers (1987), All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS) Award, New Delhi (1984), and many more.