U Kin Maung Yin was an influential Burmese artist who was recognized as one of the leaders in the first generation of Burma’s modern art movement together with Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet. He was known not only for his paintings but also for his monk-like devotion to art alone and a proclivity for a hermetic life of solitude.

He was inspired by Dutch modernist Piet Mondrian during his school days, but later some of his works including the portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi, were inspired by Italian modernist Amedeo Modigliani. He also wrote several books. He had a stroke later in his life and decased in 2014, June.