Bui Xuan Phai represents the generation that witnessed the transition from modern to contemporary art in Vietnam. The artist is known for painting Hanoi's Old Quarter in an almost ritualistic way, and his works became sought-after as soon as the Doi-Moi reforms started in the 1980s.

Since the early 1950s, after returning to his hometown, Hanoi, from the Resistance movement, Bui Xuan Phai has been consistently painting Hanoi streets daily. He would roam the streets in the Old Quarter, taking in the cityscape's details and people's moods. His paintings portray not only the urban scenes of Hanoi but also psychological snapshots of the collective memory shared among the local community in Hanoi during wartime.

Born in 1920 in Hanoi, Bui Xuan Phai grew up in Hanoi's Oil Quarter, where he later lived and opened a studio. He showed his talent in painting at a young age. Before he enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine in 1941, he had already been invited to show his works in Tokyo, where he sold his first painting.

Between the 1950s-1980s, Bui Xuan Phai’s studio was a gathering place for his friends and families, who admired his intellect and always enjoyed the dynamics. The younger generation would call him “Uncle Phai.” He would sketch up portraits and caricatures of his friends and families and give them as gifts.

Today, Bui Xuan Phai is considered one of the four pillars of Vietnamese modern art, alongside artists Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Nguyen Sang, and Duong Bich Lien.