Born in 1879 at Mavelikkara, Rama Varma was artist Raja Ravi Varma's second son. He inherited his father's artistic talent and worked in oil on canvas and painted portraits.
He studied at the Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai and later came back to Kerala to start the Raja Ravi Varma School of Painting, which is today Kerala's one of the leading fine arts institutes, Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Mavelikara, Alappuzha.
Varma drew sketches, portraits, mythological paintings, landscapes and also ordinary moments of life around him. His works are in many collections across the nation. Rama Varma also made two large portraits of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. for display at the Parliament House in New Delhi.