The academy-trained painter Slavko Šohaj studied at the Academy in Zagreb from 1926 to 1931 under professors Ljubo Babić and Vladimir Becić. He paid study visits to Paris twice (from 1931 to 1932 and in 1939). He was a visual arts associate of the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb from 1935 to 1965. In 1957, he formed an art group with Oton Postružnik and Frano Šimunović. He was a corresponding member of the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1977.

Slavko Šohaj was open to the challenges of modern figuration. He was a poetic realist of exceptional sensibility. Šohaj was a notable typical representative of the Zagreb painting school who was inspired by Cézanne's shaping of chromatic masses and Matisse's colorism. The most special group of his works consists of color drawings, watercolors and gouaches with an accented decorativeness, in which spontaneous improvisation is often observed. He received the "Vladimir Nazor" Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1978.