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How To Write An Artist Bio With Tips and Lots of Examples

I have summarized the more important parts of this article below. Let’s have a look at some tips for an artist bio and below it some tips for an artist bio for an emerging artist.

For a Professional Artist Biography:

• Keep it Short : Your biography should be a brief overview of key facts about your art career.
• Easy to Read : Start with a catchy first sentence to get the reader interested.
• Write as an Observer : Use the third person to talk about your art and career.
• Important Facts Only : Mention things like your birth date, nationality, job title, the art forms you use, your style and main themes, and other key career details.
• Ideal Length : Aim for about 120 words, but keep it between 80 and 140 words.

For an Emerging Artist Biography:

• Background Info : Mention where you were born and places you’ve lived.
• Artistic Roots : Talk about what or who inspires your art.
• Education in Art : If you’ve had any art training or education, include it.
• Self-Taught Artists : If you haven’t had formal training, explain how you’ve learned and developed your art skills on your own.

Keep reading as I cover the topic in more detail, giving artist bio examples and the like.

Writing an Artist biography is probably one of the hardest things I have had to write. If you are reading this then I assume you are struggling with this as well.

Whether you are an artist making modern art , a painter or a visual artist looking for representation in an art gallery then you need to get your artist bio done right.

What’s the difference between an artist biography, artist statement, and artist profile?

Here are some bullet points to summarize each for those who do not know the key differences.

Below are some bullet points that highlight the key differences between an artist biography, artist statement, and artist profile. I will then dive into more details of each with examples you can use.:

Artist Biography:

• Focuses on the artist’s life and career, often including personal information and significant events or achievements.
• Written in third-person perspective.
• Typically includes a summary of the artist’s education, influences, and creative process, as well as critical reception and awards.

Artist Statement:

• Focuses on the artist’s creative process and artistic vision.
• Written in first-person perspective.
• Typically includes a description of the artist’s style, techniques, themes, and motivations, as well as any philosophical or conceptual ideas that inform the work.

Artist Profile:

• Similar to a bio, but typically shorter and more concise.
• Often used as a promotional tool on social media, artist directories, or other online platforms.
• May include a brief bio, statement, and selected images of the artist’s work.
• Generally less formal than a traditional bio or statement, and may be written in first or third person.

What is an artist biography (Artist bio)?

Before we start, you should understand the difference between an artist biography and an artist statement vs an artist profile.

Each one serves its own purpose and should be used for a specific goal in mind.

In its simplest form, an artist biography is a summary of you as an artist in a few paragraphs (some say 50 words is all you need). Artist bios should detail your qualifications and any training you undertook as an artist (if you are not qualified you can just omit this part). You then detail your influences, your achievements and contact details. It is usually followed by a brief artist statement.

What to include in an artist biography about yourself

An artist biography needs to take into account the life and work of you as an artist. It usually covers significant events and accomplishments throughout your artistic career, as well as personal information that helps to understand the context in which your art was created.

An artist biography can also include information about your artistic education, influences, creative process, and the evolution of their style over time. It may also discuss the critical reception of their work, as well as any awards or recognition they have received.

Get to the point quickly

An artist bio should get to the point quickly. This is because the reader of the bio may have limited time or attention span, and may be looking for a quick summary of your artistic career and style.

A concise and well-organized bio can help to capture the reader’s interest and convey the most important information about your work in a short amount of time.

This can be really important in situations where you are trying to promote yourself or your art, such as when applying for grants, exhibitions, or other opportunities.

In addition, a clear and focused bio can help to establish your credibility and professionalism as an artist. It shows that you have a clear sense of your artistic identity and are able to communicate it effectively to others.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should sacrifice depth or detail in your bio. It’s important to strike a balance between brevity and substance, providing enough information to give the reader a sense of who you are as an artist and what makes your work unique.

Speak in your own voice

One thing to note, many artists refer to themselves in the third person which I believe can come across as a little pretentious.

Another pretentious artist is the last thing the world needs.

Here are some tips for writing an artist bio in your own voice:

• Start by brainstorming a list of the key points you want to convey about yourself and your work.
• Write in the first person (“I” instead of “the artist”).
• Use a conversational tone and avoid jargon or overly technical language.
• Highlight your unique qualities, experiences, and perspective.
• Include personal anecdotes or stories that illustrate your artistic journey.
• Focus on what motivates and inspires you as an artist.
• Be concise and to the point, keeping the reader’s attention in mind.
• Don’t be afraid to show some personality and express yourself creatively in the bio.
• Read your bio aloud to make sure it flows well and sounds natural.
• Have someone else read your bio and provide feedback on clarity and tone.

Here are some things not to include in your artist bio:

• Personal information that is not relevant to your art, such as your marital status or political beliefs.
• Negative or overly critical comments about other artists or art forms.
• A list of every single exhibition or show you have ever participated in. Instead, focus on the most significant or noteworthy ones. This is a big one ok!
• Unsubstantiated claims or exaggerations about your accomplishments or abilities.
• Vague or clichéd language that doesn’t really say anything about your work or style.
• Rambling or overly long paragraphs that make it difficult for the reader to follow.
• Too much technical jargon or insider terminology that may not be easily understood by a general audience.
• Personal opinions that may be divisive or controversial, unless they are integral to your artistic vision or message.
• Information that may compromise your privacy or security, such as your home address or phone number.

Using your own voice makes you more relatable.

Click here if you wish to skip to the section on How to write an artist bio with steps and examples.

Can a non-artist write an artist bio for you?

Artist biographies can also be written by art historians, curators or other experts in the field. This is because artist bios can also be found in exhibition catalogs, art books , and online resources.

A great artist bio can provide valuable insights into your artistic life and work and can help to deepen our understanding and appreciation of your art, especially if art lovers find something in your back story that they can relate to.

What is an Artist Statement

An artist’s statement is a brief description of your work as a whole. The purpose of an artist statement is to give anyone looking at your work some context around why you work a certain way so that they can either connect with you or the subject matter. The artist statement should cover the “why” you do things and not the “who you are”.

You would usually include an artist statement as part of the artist biography.

For more information on Artist’s Statements, wikipedia has some further reading.

What is an Artist Profile

The Artist Profile is quite interesting, it is a mix of both the artist bio and artist statement. The difference is the artist profile packages both pieces of information into an interesting page designed to ‘hook’ the reader into wanting to learn more about you as the artist as well as your art and your interests.

Think of the artist profile as the first page of a really interesting novel, designed to make the reader want to keep reading and learn more.

Use good story-telling techniques when planning your artist profile.

If you are struggling to write an Artist Biography and Artist Statement, try writing an Artist Profile instead as it lets you channel your creative energy rather than following a boring format.

Here is an example of an Artist Bio with an Artist Statement

Here are some real examples of artist profiles (some famous artists some not)

Anselm Kiefer

Someone like Anselm who has a long and distinguished career, his artist bio can start to look like a long laundry list of accomplishments and doesn’t actually tell us anything new. My tip is to not follow this example (see below for an image or click on the link above to view his page)

Do not write a laundry list of accomplishments and facts!

Rhian Malin (though it is written in the 3rd person..)

I quite like Rhian’s artist bio even though it is written in the 3rd person. But if you take a look at their artist biography you will notice that the first line makes her personable. She was inspired by her grandmother’s collection. We can all relate to seeing something at a grandparent’s home that would have awed us as children and then went on to influence us. Be personable.

Rhian then describes their approach and where they work. The list of accomplishments are not a laundry list and they appear at the bottom making you believe that accomplishments are a by product of inspiration and making art.

I quite like Rhian’s approach.

Larry Poons

Larry Poons also follows the more traditional approach to writing an artist biography. It is the typical laundry list of accomplishments and facts but what I do like is the photo. It is not a pretentious professional photo of the artist in a black turtleneck trying to look cool. The photo looks more natural.

Jeff Koons – As he has so many achievements, Jeff’s website also has formatted his bio into sections covering Awards and Honors , Talks and Lectures and Collections .

Another list of accomplishments and an unnaturally posed photo. Please do not go down this path of a boring artist bio, be original and be likeable. Make yourself relatable.

Be original, personable and likeable. Stay true to character and do not appear fake.

Why write an artist biography (bio). What is the purpose of an artist bio?

What is the purpose of writing an artist bio? Is it for vanity, was it requested by art galleries or was it just so that you could be found in search engines?

Most artists write an artist bio because other artists have written one. Pretty simple.

Personally I don’t have a formal artist bio written and the only time I pull one together is when I am entering an art competition and it is part of the entry form.

When we write our artist biography we need to ask ourselves “Who is it for?” You should write to your audience and not to yourself.

An artist bio Is like an informal Resume

Writing an artist bio is a bit like a resume. It can feel cold, impersonal and detached.

When we write a resume we are writing for a specific audience such as a recruiter but the goal is the same.

When we write an Artist Bio:

• We are writing to a curator or collector.
• We want them to know our skills
• We want them to know our qualifications
• We want them to know what we are good at
• We want them to know what makes us so much better than the next person that the reader will want to invest in us, our art
• and finally we want them to know WHY we became an artist and why we are pursuing the arts.

Give people your “why” when creating an artist bio

When you write an artist biography I have found it to be actually quite harder than a resume.

When we write a resume we tend to be able to be more objective about our skills, work and achievements but with art, we are emotionally invested and being an artist is core to our self identity.

Types of artist biographies

Artist biography for self taught artists.

Self taught artists may believe the lack of a formal qualification or training in the arts may preclude them from needing an artist biography.

I suffered from an inferiority complex for many years as I too am a self taught artist.

Self taught artists can usually do well with an artist profile instead of an artist bio as it can gloss over or skip over any need to highlight their qualifications.

So if you are a self taught artist, write your artist biography listing all your achievements, influences, showings, sales and include an artist statement.

Then when it comes to qualifications, highlight that you have been an artist for X amount of years, highlight your experience over any qualifications.

Experience can be better than education

Now I’ll get on my high horse.. Not being formally trained is not a hindrance. In fact, an art degree or tertiary qualification is actually only a recent thing for artists. Most artists until the 20th century were trained as artist apprentices or self taught. None had a piece of paper proclaiming that they were now part of the creative elite!

As we no longer have artists guilds to confirm our skills as an artist, then some use a degree or diploma as a proxy. Though this does not guarantee that you are as good an artist as any other.

Artist Biography for Qualified Artists

Many contemporary artists have some form of qualification they will include in their artist biography. If you have a certification in a specific field, or use of a specific tool then note that down.

Otherwise your artist biography and artist statement should read like any other.

Artist Biography for Beginner artist biography

When you are a beginner artist your experience will be little, you may not have even had a showing yet and you may not have any qualifications.

When I was 17 I entered the Doug Moran National Portrait prize (in Australia) which is a $100,000 Acquisitive portrait prize.

I had about 5 years of artist experience under my belt, 1 showing in my high school where I won first prize for a portrait of Marilyn Monroe and 2 sales of my paintings.

The prizes required I submit an artist bio and artist statement. I did not know what to do so I left it all blank.

Today I would give the same advice as I give to self taught artists, highlight your achievements to date and not add anything negative.

Remember my resume example. When we start working we have nothing to add as experience but we document all the transferable skills we have all that we can offer.

As a beginner artist, add what you have done to date and be proud of that. If you have not done anything of note yet, then note what your influences are and where you want to go with your art career.

What should an artist biography include?

What to include in an artist biography.

Images – Should I include an image of myself?

Just like in a resume, unless you are one extremely good looking person or you have a very original look that can help with your persona or help people remember you (think of Dali’s moustache) then do not include an image or photo of yourself.

Ensure you provide any links to where you have exhibited.

Ensure you provide any links to where you have sold your works. If you are unable to link to article showing a sale, then note down the item sold, when it was sold and the details of the artwork.

You do not need to note the price it sold for or who purchased the artwork.

Where possible, link to any articles about you or your works that are of note.

How to write an artist biography about yourself

The best way to write an artist biography is to start looking at the artist biography examples found on the internet.

The hardest thing I found was collating all the information I wanted to include in my bio. What I found was when I just did a brain dump without putting my thought into dates etc it was easier.

The first things you should do, using sticky notes:

• Collect and organise any courses you have completed. Don’t worry about the years commenced or completed.
• Write down keywords that you would use to describe your influences and put these aside. These can be art styles, people or places.
• Write down why you do what you do as an artist, was it something you have known since you can remember? Was it a specific experience?
• Write down any key achievements you have had so far in your art career.
• Your name and where you live and where you typically work from
• What styles or mediums do you work in?

Once you have these noted down, you actually have the key points required for an artist biography. All we need to do now is start writing the artist bio.

How do you start a biography?

Grab those sticky notes we just wrote. Put them in this order:

• Why you do what you do as an artist, that something you have known since you can remember or that specific experience.
• Those keywords that you used to describe your influences. The art styles, people or places.
• The styles or mediums do you work in
• The courses you have completed.
• The key achievements you have had so far in your art career.

Now that you have put all the raw data into some meaningful order, you just need to pad these out into properly worded paragraphs and ensure that they have a natural flow to them.

If you find that hard to do then take a look at some real artist biography examples to draw inspiration from. Find a few you like and experiment.

Artist Biography Examples

How to write an artist biography sample.

Here are some real examples of artist biographies to draw inspiration from. Note : One take away from all the examples I researched (apart from Rita Ackermann) is that they were all badly formatted and hard to read.

So please take some time to ensure that your artist biography is formatted so that it is easy to read on a computer and also on a smartphone.

EVELYN SOSA

Cuban, born 1989.

An Award winning photographer, Evelyn Sosa Rojas was born in 1989 in Havana, Cuba, where she still lives and work. In her practice, since 2008, Sosa specializes in amazingly soulful portraits. Sosa shows the power of femininity through photos of women in different familiar or intimate settings. In 2016, Sosa was the winner of the Herman Puig Prize, awarded yearly to the best artist of the Body Photography Salon in Havana. In her powerful series “Women’s portraits”, Sosa captures the very essence of each subject in a simple, sensual and compelling way. Sosa has an ability to capture the depth of the eyes and gaze, showing the subject soul and deep thoughts. In 2019, Uncommon Beauty published a photo-book , HAVANA INTIMATE, through the lens of Evelyn Sosa. In a scholarly essay written for the book, Grethel Morell Otero, the recipient of the 2019 Cuban National Curator Award, and a published authority in Cuban photography wrote: “her (Sosa) work represents something of a vanguard movement in contemporary artistic photography’. Website

Joseph Rolella

Born in Sydney in 1972, Rolella completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) in 1994 and went on to obtain a Masters in Visual Arts at the University of Western Sydney in 1998. Joseph Rolella has exhibited consistently for the past twelve years both nationally and internationally. Rolella has won several major art prizes including the Australian Cricket Art Prize in 2011 for the painting “Cricket at Kandahar”. The Oakhill Grammer School Art Prize in 2013 as well as being selected as a semi-finalist for the prestigious Doug Moran Portrait Prize. Complex and contradictory, Rolella’s recent abstract paintings seek to expose a delicate equilibrium between a sense of balance and visual calm and the tumult of painterly texture and surface tension. The play of light at the waters edge…

SOFIA AREAL  (Lisbon, 1960)

Begins her studies 1979 at the Hertfordshire College of Art and Design in St Albans, UK. In Portugal she studied etching and painting at Ar.Co. (Art and Visual Communication Center).

Her first group exhibition was in 1982 at the 1ª Mostra de Artes in Lagos, Portugal and her first solo show was in 1990 at Galeria Alda Cortez, Lisbon. Since then, Sofia has exhibited in various countries individually and collectively. She had a retrospective exhibition covering the last 10 years of her career in 2011 at the Galeria da Cordoaria Nacional the exhibition was accompanied by a book published by Babel, with texts of among others: Jorge Silva Melo and Professor Luís Campos e Cunha. In 2012 Areal illustrates the literary magazine published by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Colóquio Letras. In 2013 launches a book together with Harvard Professor, Allan Hobson – “ Creativity”. Since 2013, Areal has started an international exhibition program, in Macau – Orient Foundation 2014, Oslo – Embassy Art Space 2015 and Dublin in 2016. In the same year a film by Jorge Silva Melo, “Sofia Areal: Um Gabinete Anti-Dor” premiers. In 2017 Areal continues a series of exhibitions, started in 2016 in quARTel das Artes in Abrantes, about her own private collection in Lagos Cultural Centre, followed by MUDAS. Contemporary Art Museum of Madeira and Centro Cultural Raiano – a series, which will continue in 2019. In the same year Areal will have an exhibition in the Portuguese Cultural Centre in Luxembourg. In 2017-2018 creates a tiles panel is together with a group of artists and 3 individual ones, all with Ratton Gallery in Lisbon.

Great example of a short artist biography

A short bio is a good idea for any artist whether you want to present your skills for a solo exhibition for fine art or just for a social media platform such as for an Instagram profile.

Rita Ackermann Biography

Born : Budapest, Hungary, 1968

Education :

The New York Studio School of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture (Hanes Foundation), New York NY, 1992 – 1993 Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary, 1989 – 1992

Resides: Lives and works in New York NY

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019 Hauser & Wirth, ‘Rita Ackermann. Brother and Sister’, Zürich, Switzerland

2018 La Triennale di Milano, ‘Rita Ackermann. Movements as Monuments’, Milan, Italy VIEWING ROOM, Marlborough Contemporary, ‘Rita Ackermann and Carol Rama: Body Matters’, New York NY

How to write an artist biography using a template

You can follow this simple template if you want to skip the sticky note exercise from the previous steps.

As I do not like referring to myself in the third person I will move away from your typical artist biography examples and make it a little more personable.

“ My name is [Insert your name], I was born in [insert town/city/country] in [year]. My first experiences as an artist was when [insert time period in life or formative experience].

My influences were [insert influences].

It was here that I realized that I wanted to pursue my career in this field.

I went on to study [insert course and institution] where I earned my qualifications in [insert field of study].

It was here that I furthered expanded on my knowledge in [insert fields of interest], where I [insert key achievements].

I work primarily in [insert mediums] and I currently work from [insert location] and [any other locations of interest]. “

Self taught artist bio sample

For self taught artists, your artist bio will be the same as all the examples but without listing any formal qualifications. Using the template above, I have modified it to make it suitable for self taught artists.

The focus for a self taught artist is to focus on your practical experience and what you did in lieu of formal training.

I believe that being an artist is something that one is born to do an not learned at school, I went on to study through practical experience, learning through trial and error and self learning studying the works of [insert influences] as my teachers .

50 word artist bio example

Describe yourself in 50 words or less. This is much harder to do than you may think.

If you must provide an artist biography in 50 words or less then focus on the key information and remove the filler words that we tend to use when describing ourselves and our achievements.

When creating a 50 words or less artist bio, use simple headings and bullet points and stick to the point.

“ My name is [Insert your name]. Born in [insert town/city/country] in [year].

I work primarily in [insert main medium]

My influences are [insert influences].

I obtained a [insert qualification] from [institution].

(I am represented by [insert gallery]) or (I have exhibited in [insert shows]) or (I have won [insert main prizes])

I currently work from [insert location] and [any other locations of interest]. “

Still struggling to write an Artist Bio?

I found this cool site, it generates artist statements and biographies. All you need to do is click “Generate Some Bollocks” .

First Draft of an artist biography

Have someone write the outline for you.

If you find it hard to write about yourself, find someone you trust and hand over your sticky notes and ask them to write the artist biography for you using the templates as a guide.

You will find that someone who knows you well will remember to add other information about you that you may have forgotten to include or too embarrassed to include.

Once they have a draft, read through it out loud with them and see if it makes sense and look at areas for improvement.

My English is not good, what do I do?

If your english is not as good as you like, that is totally fine. If anything it is an advantage as you can now have a bilingual artist bio.

You can have your artist bio written in your native language for your native audience and then ask someone you trust to translate it to English or pay a small fee on Upwork or Freelancer to translate your artist biography for you.

If you do not want to pay someone, you can give Google Translate a try and see how that comes up. Speaking from experience when I tried to translate text from English to Italian, be careful as this does not always give the best results.

Review and review again

Again, with anything your write you should review it yourself and then ask someone you trust to review it again for you.

Check for grammar and spelling.

Common mistakes in artist biographies

Contrary to my advice about writing in the first person, some say that your artist biography should be written in the third person to give the impression that it was written by someone else and that it sounds more authoritative.

Unless your artist biography was actually written by a third person I disagree with this advice. We know you wrote this so why pretend it wasn’t.

Secondly, if you are an unknown and not professionally represented, most people in the industry will know you bring little authority with you. That’s the sad truth.

The next mistake is to fail to tell an interesting story about your journey as an artist. Note down any gaps in your career and explain why, sometimes the gaps are as interesting as the art journey itself.

Taking care of children, sick family, going to war, being in accident can all be used as part of your narrative and drawn on for inspiration.

Think of all the books you read that you could not put down, they told an interesting story you could relate to and the characters were usually likeable and not pretentious.

Which leads to the next mistake, do not big note yourself or embellish your achievements. Do not lie about your achievements. With the internet available to most people on their phones, most facts can be easily verified.

The next mistake is to write an artist statement when an artist biography was requested.

Other mistakes when writing an artist bio are spelling mistakes grammar mistakes, not proofreading your draft, and the final mistake artists make when writing their artist biography is forgetting to tell the why they became an artist.

How to write an Artist Bio – Wrap up!

As I mentioned earlier, writing an artist bio is a bit like a resume but it’s all part of the art business. It can feel cold, impersonal and detached. This is the reason why I prefer an Artist Profile instead.

I would format the artist profile to include the initial hook paragraphs to get your readers interested in knowing more.

I would then follow the lead from the examples provided and include information that you would usually see in an artist biography.

Keep it up to date

Remember, as artists we are always changing and progressing. This means whether you are using an Artist Biography, Artists Statement or Artist Profile, these should be updated to reflect where you are in life and as an artist at that point in time.

It should change as you change. Keep some of the older information in there so your reader can follow your career and influences progressions.

These tell a story about you and remember there is no such thing as a perfect artist bio or artists cv. You just want to convey enough about yourself for potential clients and for a fellow artist.

Rewrite and Review

Each time you make an update, review what you wrote and do not be afraid to re-write it all if it no longer applies to who you are today.

Get someone to proofread your artist bio and take on any constructive criticism.

Good luck! If you have any of your own artist biographies that you would like linked to this article, please send through a message on the contact-me page.

If it is suitable, I will include it in the list of Artist Biography Examples.

Joseph Colella (Joe Colella) is an Editor and Writer at WastedTalentInc. As a frustrated artist with over 40 years experience making art (who moonlights as a certified Business Analyst with over 20 years of experience in tech).

While Joseph holds a Diploma in Information Technology, in true wasted talent fashion he spent years applying for various Art degrees; from the Accademia di Belle Arti (Napoli), to failing to get into the Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) at the University of Western Sydney.

While he jokes about his failures at gaining formal art qualifications, as a self-taught artist he has had a fruitful career in business, technology and the arts making Art his full time source of income from the age of 18 until 25.

His goal is to attend the Julian Ashton School of Art at The Rocks Sydney when he retires from full time work. Joseph’s art has been sold to private collectors all over the world from the USA, Europe and Australasia.

He is a trusted source for reliable art advice and tutorials to copyright/fair use advice and is committed to helping his readers make informed decisions about making them a better artist.

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How to Write an Appealing Artist Biography

Paige Simianer | October 16, 2015 (Updated September 1, 2022)

Your artist biography is a paragraph of many talents.

It weaves the story of your art career - instilling trust as it goes - allowing you to share your credentials and achievements without speaking a word. The importance and utility of this emissary cannot be stressed enough.

Armed with this knowledge, all that’s left is to write and perfect your artist biography. Easy, right? Unfortunately, staring at a blank page trying to condense your art career into a paragraph or two is anything but. That’s why we’ve put together the five steps to writing an appealing artist biography, from start to strong finish, to get your creative juices flowing.

“The Artist’s Biography serves to provide the reader with a story about you as an artist and learn about your career credentials.” - Renee Phillips

Step 1: Understand Your Audience

Before you dive into the nitty-gritty of writing your artist biography, make sure you have a firm understanding of your audience. Will they be more interested in your past exhibitions and awards or excited about an upcoming residency or project? Sometimes it can be beneficial to adjust your biography for different readers and objectives.

For instance, if a biography is going to a gallery that frequently holds exhibitions, you’ll want to focus more heavily on your exhibition history and less on a residency.

Step 2: Choose the Right Information

Your artist biography should be a summary of significant facts about your art career written in third person. Begin by introducing yourself with your name, medium, and some background information. This can include where you were born, where you work, and when you first became interested in art. Next, discuss any art training or schooling you had and degrees earned. If none, state you’re self-taught.

Then move on to discuss your exhibitions, awards, and any other professional achievements. You can also mention if you’re featured in any important collections or prominent art publications. But, be sure not to overwhelm the reader with too much self-promotion - choose the best nuggets.

Then segue into any recent shows or important projects you’re working on such as a public art installation. End strong with any upcoming exhibitions, residencies, or projects.

Step 3: Write Multiple Drafts

Lucky are the writers who can craft masterpieces without ever moving past the first draft. If you’re not one of these gifted few (if you are, spread your wisdom), we recommend writing two to three drafts. You can try different tones and play around with language in each one. And don’t be afraid to inject a bit of personality into your biography.

While some of the components seem a bit dry, the tone and voice behind them can be anything but. You can weave in a few of your art-related interests and passions among the facts. Just remember to make sure it resonates with your audience. And save the full discussion of your purpose and the inspiration behind your art for your artist statement .

Step 4: Edit and Edit Some More

Make sure you keep your artist biography short and concise with a focused structure. It’s very easy to wax lyrical about your career and lose your readers in the process. Simple and readable will always trump jargon and flowery language when it comes to your biography. Each short paragraph - two to three max - should be succinct and flow easily into the next.

We suggest taking your drafts to a friend with an excellent grasp of grammar and blessed with writing brilliance. Your friend can help you pull the best parts together into one outstanding piece of writing. And check for spelling, grammar, word choice, and sentence structure errors.

Step 5: Show It to Another Artist

Have an artist you trust and admire read your final draft. A fresh set of practiced eyes can do wonders for your biography and help you polish it to perfection. Another reader with a trained eye will be able to tell you if your biography correctly reflects you and your art.

Bonus Step: Continue to Enhance Your Biography as You Evolve

When you write your artist biography you want it to be the best expression of your career, but don’t forget that your career is continually developing. Make sure your artist biography progresses with you. Add in and switch out professional achievements as your success and knowledge grows. You might even need to rewrite it one or more times. This means you are evolving and maturing as an artist.

Need Inspiration and a Sample? Renee Phillips has graciously included a sample artist biography on her blog. You can find it here .

Want to organize your art business and receive more art career tips?

Sign up for artwork archive (for free)  here..

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How to Write an Artist Biography and Statement

As artists, it’s a good idea to have an Artist Biography and Statement ready for anything including exhibitions, competition submissions or applications for funding. Here is a guide to help you identify the important information to share about you and your art practice.

Artist Biography

What is an artist biography.

A concise description of the artist, written in the third person eg. “He”, “She”, “They”.

What is an Artist Biography for?

An Artist Biography presents facts about your development as an artist. It presents a context for your work. A selection panel will be often interested in where or how you learned your skills as it can lend a degree of understanding of why you make what you make.

What should I write in my Artist Biography?

Where are you from? Where are you currently based? If you studied, where did you study? Or maybe you are self taught? What is your main artistic inspiration? What mediums do you work with? Does your work belong in any collections? Do you belong to any art collectives, societies or organisations?

Example: Claude Monet is a painter living and working in Paris, France. His impressionistic style is concerned with capturing light and organic forms in the natural world. Monet studied oil painting and drawing at the Academie Suisse where developed his landscape works to render the beauty of the world around us. A visionary artist, Monet pushes the boundaries of classical painting techniques and his paintings have been exhibited worldwide, most notably in the Paris Salon de 1874. His works are housed in the most prestigious, public and private collections in the world.

A corner of the studio , 1861 Claude Monet Oil on canvas

Artist Statement

What is an artist statement.

A focussed description of the artists work and practice, written in the first person eg. “I”, “My”, “Our”.

What is an Artist Statement for?

An Artist Statement communicates the main concerns within your practice. You might consider it a shortcut to understanding what your artwork is about – so that a selection panel, who sometimes have limited time – can get an idea of your work in as short a time as possible.

What should I write in my Artist Statement?

Think about…

How? How do you make your work? Describe how your work is made. What kind of approach do you take to your mark making, colour palette and materials?

What? What are the main the subjects or ideas in your works? Look at the physical aspects of your work and describe them to us.

Why? Why do you do what you do? Is there a relationship between your imagery and the mediums you work with? What is the main idea behind your work?

Rather than simply stating how, what and why, try writing a few drafts to blend these ideas into a cohesive Artist Statement and make sure you are referring to the specific works you are entering into the competition.

Example: “For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment, but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life.. the air and the light which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value. Using bright oil colour, I like to paint as a bird sings, covering the canvas with dabs, dashes and squiggles of paint and recording the passing of time through changes in light.”

We hope this helps you write your Artist Biography and Artist Statement and perhaps in doing so, also helps to bring your practice into focus.

Shop art materials at jacksonsart.com

Clare McNamara

As Blog Editor, Clare oversees content for the blog, manages the publishing schedule and contributes regularly with features, reviews and interviews. With a background in fine arts, her practices are illustration, graphic design, video and music.

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Thank you for the great advice.

Hello Irene,   You’re welcome! Thank you for letting us know.   Kind regards,   Clare

Very helpful, thanks 🙂

You’re welcome. Thank you for letting us know.

Thank you for sharing this.

You’re very welcome.

I need to modify my biography to make it third person. Can I do that

Hi Kathleen,   You can alter your entry forms right up until the submission deadline. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]   Kind regards,   Clare

Great advice, thank you!

Thank you Clare. Just so I’m clear is it 180 – 200 words for the statement and another 180 – 200 words for biog?

Hi James,   Thanks for your question. The entry forms allows a maximum of 180 words for the Artist Biography and maximum of 200 words for the Artwork Statement.   Best, Clare

Thank you for this ♥️ it is very helpful

Thank you for this invaluable help

You’re very welcome

Can’t thank you enough for this information. I’ve been researching this on the internet but was just left confused. This is so clearly written, am now much more confident to start writing.

I’m so glad it was helpful for you Diannah, thanks for letting us know.

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10 Examples of artist bios: How to write a super artist bio

Examples of artist bios often include key elements like the artist's name, area of expertise, career milestones, personal interests, and contact info. They're tailored to engage the audience while reflecting the artist's unique voice and journey.

Ever find yourself staring at a blank screen, wondering how to condense your artistic journey into a few paragraphs?

Trust me, you're not alone.

An artist bio isn't just a list of facts; it's a narrative that invites people into your creative world.

So, why is it so crucial?

Well, it's your handshake with the audience, a way to say, “Hey, this is me, and this is my art.”

Stick around as we go into the how-tos and examples of artist bios that make a lasting impression.

Key Takeaways

• Define your artistic identity clearly : Your bio is your opportunity to introduce not just your art, but who you are as an artist. It should include your medium, inspiration, and artistic goals. This clarity helps in aligning your business plan with your art, ensuring your marketing strategies and portfolio resonate with your artistic vision.
• Use your unique voice : Inject your personality into your bio to make it stand out. Whether your tone is serious, whimsical, or quirky, ensure it reflects the uniqueness of your art. This authenticity makes your bio more engaging and memorable, inviting your audience into your creative world.
• Update regularly : As your artistic journey evolves, so should your bio. Regular updates reflecting new milestones, exhibitions, or shifts in your artistic focus keep your audience informed and engaged. This dynamic approach ensures your bio remains relevant and an accurate reflection of your current artistic identity.

Defining Yourself as an Artist in Your Bio Informs Your Business Plan

There is an interesting interplay between your artist bio and your business plan.

You see, your artist bio isn't just a narrative; it's a declaration of your artistic identity . It's where you lay out your style, your inspirations, your goals—essentially, it's where you define who you are as an artist.

And guess what?

When you're clear about your artistic identity in your bio, it becomes easier to map out a business plan that truly aligns with your art and your aspirations.

Your bio can help you identify your target audience, decide on the right marketing strategies, and even guide you in creating a portfolio that resonates with your artistic vision.

The Artist Bio vs. The Artist Statement: What's the Difference?

The artist bio and the artist statement—two essential pieces of writing, yet each serves a distinct purpose in the world of art.

Your artist bio is like the opening scene of a film; it sets the stage and introduces the characters. It's a narrative that tells the story of you—the artist. It covers your journey, your influences, your achievements, and even a bit of your personality. It's a comprehensive look at who you are, aimed at engaging the audience and making them want to know more about you and, by extension, your art.

Now, the artist statement, that's a different beast altogether.

Think of it as a spotlight that shines exclusively on a specific body of work. It's your chance to delve deep into your artistic process, the themes you explore, and the techniques you employ.

While your bio might say, “I'm a painter inspired by nature,” your artist statement would elaborate on how the colors of autumn leaves influence your palette, or how the texture of tree bark finds its way into your brush strokes. It's more focused, more immediate, and speaks directly to the art that's right in front of the viewer.

So, while your bio draws people into your world, your artist statement guides them through a specific landscape within that world.

Writing the Perfect Artist Bio

Your artistic title: what's your medium.

First things first, let's get clear on what you do.

Are you a painter, a digital artist, or maybe a sculptor?

Your title sets the stage, so make it clear and precise.

Your Home Base: Where's Your Creative Den?

Your location can say a lot about you and your art.

Whether you're soaking up the urban vibes of a bustling city or drawing inspiration from a tranquil countryside, let people know where you're coming from—literally.

Your Milestones: What's Your Artistic Journey?

Here's where you can brag a little. Got any exhibitions, awards, or significant projects under your belt? This is the time to shine a spotlight on them.

A Dash of You: What Makes You Tick?

Throw in some personal tidbits to make your bio relatable. Are you a coffee addict, a night owl, or maybe a hiking enthusiast? These little details can make you more memorable.

Stay Connected: How Can We Reach You?

Don't forget to include ways people can connect with you. Your website, social media handles, and other contact information should be easily accessible.

Tips for Improving Your Artist Bio

Crafting an artist bio is like painting a self-portrait with words. It's a small canvas, but it can make a big impact.

Here are some tips that'll help you brush up your bio and make it a masterpiece.

Understand the Audience

First off, know who you're talking to.

Are you aiming for gallery curators, potential clients, or a broader audience on social media?

Tailoring your tone and content based on your audience can make your bio resonate more effectively.

For instance, if your primary audience is other artists, you might want to delve into the nitty-gritty of your techniques.

Use Your Unique Voice

Your art is unique, and so are you.

Let your personality shine through your writing. Whether you're quirky, serious, or whimsical, your voice should be consistent with the art you create.

This adds a layer of authenticity and makes your bio more engaging.

Consider Length Requirements

How long should it be?

Well, it depends on where your bio will be published.

If it's for a gallery submission, they might have specific word limits.

On your own website, you have more freedom.

But remember, a bio is like a good sketch—detailed enough to be interesting, but not so much that it becomes a full-blown painting.

Additional Artist Bio Tips

• Avoid Jargon : Unless your audience is well-versed in art terminology, keep it simple. You want to invite people into your world, not alienate them.
• Be Honest, Be You : Authenticity shines brighter than any embellishment. Your bio should be a true reflection of who you are as an artist.
• Proofreading is Your Friend : Before publishing, make sure to proofread your bio. A typo can be a small thing that takes away from the overall picture. Maybe even get a second pair of eyes to look it over.
• Update, Update, Update : Your art evolves, and so should your bio. Every time there's a significant change in your artistic journey, take a moment to update your bio.

Examples of Artist Bios

Example 1: the landscape painter.

Sarah Green – Your Friendly Neighborhood Landscape Painter

I'm Sarah Green, and I'm carving my path as a landscape painter right here in the heart of Maplewood. I'm honing my skills at Maplewood Community College's Fine Arts program and have had the joy of showcasing my work at local art fairs.

My art is a love letter to Mother Nature, capturing her in her most tranquil moments.

When I'm not with my easel and paints, you'll find me trekking through local trails or lending a hand at our community animal shelter. Nature and critters aren't just my muse; they're my world.

Curious to see my work or just want to chat? Swing by my website or give me a follow on Instagram. Let's connect!

Example 2: The Fine Art Photographer

Tim Lee – Capturing the Urban Jungle Through My Lens

I'm Tim Lee, a budding fine art photographer rooted in the vibrant city of Chicago. I've taken some killer online courses and even had my work grace the walls of a local café.

My lens is drawn to the raw energy of city life—graffiti, faces, and all the little things that make our urban world tick.

When I'm not behind the camera, you'll catch me sipping on some artisanal coffee or cruising the streets on my skateboard. The city isn't just my canvas; it's my playground.

Want to reach out? You can find me and my work on my website or get a daily dose of my urban adventures on Twitter.

Example 3: The Abstract Painter

Emily Patel – Diving Into the Emotional Depths of Abstract Art

Hello, beautiful people! I'm Emily Patel, an up-and-coming abstract painter soaking up the sun in San Diego. I'm a self-taught artist, and I'm just beginning to dip my toes into the colorful world of abstract painting.

My art is a journey through emotions, guided by a symphony of colors and textures.

When I'm not lost in my art, I find peace in yoga and inspiration in poetry—both of which seep into my work.

Want to connect or explore my art? Feel free to visit my brand-new website or follow my artistic journey on Facebook.

Example 4: The Sculptor Finding Beauty in the Mundane

Mark Thompson – Sculpting Everyday Objects into Art

I'm Mark Thompson, a sculptor based in the artsy town of Asheville. I've studied at the Asheville School of Art and have been featured in several local exhibitions.

My sculptures turn everyday objects into something extraordinary, challenging how we view the world around us.

When I'm not sculpting, I'm usually found at flea markets hunting for my next inspiration or playing the guitar.

Interested in my work? Visit my website or follow me on Pinterest for my latest creations.

Example 5: The Digital Artist with a Social Message

Lisa Kim – Digital Art for Social Change

I'm Lisa Kim, a digital artist operating out of New York City. I've completed a digital art course from NYU and my art often appears in online social campaigns.

My digital canvases are platforms for social justice, aiming to provoke thought and inspire change.

Outside of art, I'm an avid reader and a volunteer at a local food bank.

Feel free to check out my portfolio online or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Example 6: The Watercolor Artist Inspired by Travel

Carlos Rivera – Painting the World One Brushstroke at a Time

I'm Carlos Rivera, a watercolor artist who finds inspiration from my travels. I've studied art in Spain and have exhibited my work in various European cities.

My art is a passport to different cultures, capturing the essence of places I've visited.

When I'm not painting, I'm planning my next adventure or cooking up some international cuisine.

You can find my work and travel stories on my blog or follow me on Instagram.

Example 7: The Mixed Media Artist

Angela White – Mixing Media, Mixing Messages

I'm Angela White, a mixed media artist based in San Francisco. I've taken workshops from renowned artists and have participated in group shows.

My art blends materials and messages, creating a unique narrative in each piece.

In my free time, I enjoy hiking and have a soft spot for vintage fashion.

To see my latest projects or to get in touch, visit my website or find me on Etsy.

Example 8: The Portrait Artist with a Twist

Jake O'Brien – Portraits That Tell a Story

Hey folks! I'm Jake O'Brien, a portrait artist from Boston. I've studied at the Boston School of Fine Arts and my work has been featured in several local galleries.

My portraits aren't just faces; they're stories waiting to be told.

When I'm not painting, I'm usually found at jazz clubs or writing short stories.

Curious about my work? Check out my portfolio on my website or follow me on Tumblr.

Example 9: The Environmental Artist

Fiona Chen – Art for Earth's Sake

I'm Fiona Chen, an environmental artist based in Vancouver. I've collaborated with environmental organizations and have had my installations displayed at eco-festivals.

My art is a call to action, aiming to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Outside of my art, I'm an active member of local environmental groups and a weekend gardener.

To learn more or to collaborate, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Example 10: The Ceramic Artist

Raj Kaur – Crafting Stories in Clay

I'm Raj Kaur, a ceramic artist from London. I've trained under master potters and have my own studio where I teach pottery classes.

My ceramics are more than objects; they're vessels of stories and traditions.

When I'm not at the wheel, I enjoy cooking and exploring local art scenes.

Interested? You can find my pieces and upcoming classes on my website or follow me on Pinterest.

FAQs and Additional Tips for Your Artist Bio

Crafting an artist bio isn't just about listing facts; it's about telling a story, your story .

Here are some frequently asked questions and additional tips that can help you make your bio not just informative but also engaging and reflective of your unique artistic voice.

How Can You Infuse Your Unique Artistic Voice Into Your Bio?

Your bio should be as unique as your art.

Use descriptive language that reflects your artistic style. If your art is whimsical and colorful, let that show in your choice of words. If it's dark and moody, your bio can reflect that tone.

Your bio should feel like an extension of your art, offering a textual snapshot of what you bring to the canvas, the sculpture, or the lens.

What Aspects of Your Artistic Journey Are Most Compelling and Should Be Highlighted?

Think about the milestones and experiences that have shaped you as an artist.

Did a particular event or person inspire you to take up art?

Have you won awards or participated in exhibitions?

Maybe you've traveled to unique places for your art?

These are the stories that make you interesting and relatable. Include them to give a fuller picture of who you are.

How Can Your Bio Serve as a Tool for Audience Engagement and Even Advocacy for Causes You Care About?

Your bio isn't just a CV; it's a platform.

If you're passionate about certain causes, like environmental conservation or social justice, your bio is a space to advocate for these issues. Mention projects or artworks that reflect these causes.

It not only shows that you stand for something but also attracts like-minded individuals who may become supporters of both your art and your cause.

RENEE PHILLIPS - MENTOR FOR ARTISTS

Helping Artists Achieve Their Fullest Potential

How to Write Your Artist’s Biography

By Renee Phillips 14 Comments

In “How to Write Your Artist’s Biography” I explain what it is, why you need it, and what to include, plus links to samples and quick tips.

Your Artist’s Biography is essential for viewers of your art who want to know more about you. It helps them to understand what makes you unique and tells them about the journey you took to get to where you are now as an artist.

On the practical side, your Artist’s Biography provides prospective buyers, gallery owners, curators, grant givers and writers knowledge about you. They want to know about your career accomplishments before they decide to invest in your art and promote you.

What Is The Artist’s Biography?

The Artist’s Biography is text, written in the third person (she, he) .

It serves to provide the reader with a story about you as an artist and learn about your career credentials.

It contains much of the same information as a résumé, however, a résumé or CV is written in a listing format and a biography is written in an editorial style.

Your Artist’s Biography may contain a brief description of your art work however it is also not the same as an Artist’s Statement , which your write entirely to express creative inspiration, materials, style and artistic vision.

On your website limit your Artist’s Biography to approximately 250 words or less.

Create different versions of your Artist’s Biography to use for different purposes.

First, before you go further, if you don’t have many credits on your resume read this: “How to Expand Your Short Artist’s Biography – 12 Great Ideas”

Why You Need to write Your Artist’s Biography

You need a well-written artist’s biography to…

Promote your art on your website and blog on the “About the Artist” page.

Create your profile on your social media platforms.

Provide material in your cover letter to a gallery or other art official.

Give to a publicity outlet — art editor, feature story editor or radio or TV host.

Add to your exhibition press release.

Serve as an integral part of a brochure or catalogue.

Add to your proposal for a grant, lecture, workshop or panel discussion.

What To Include in Your Biography

What are the unique attributes of your art?

Where have you previously lived and where do you currently live?

When, where, and/or why did you begin to take interest in art?

Did you study art in school, or were you self-taught?

Did you go to college or art school? Where? What did you study?

Did you receive any press coverage?

What is the title of the magazine/newspaper or blog and the writer’s name?

Have you been interviewed on TV or radio?

What is the title of the show and person who interviewed you?

What exhibitions did you participate in?

What is the name of the exhibition location and title of exhibition?

Was it a juried or invitational exhibition? What is the name of the juror?

Is your art in any important public collections? Which ones?

What awards and honors have you earned?

Have you served in other art art related capacities,  such as: Serving on the Board of Directors or committee of an arts organization?

Have you curated any exhibitions?

Have you written articles about art that have been published?

Have any books about you and your art been published?

Do you create other art-related items in addition to original works of art?

Read some samples of the Artist’s Biography.

Avoid these mistakes i’ve seen on artists’ websites.

Avoid writing about intimate, personal experiences that are not related to your career or artistic vision.

Avoid the use of jargon, colloquialism, and esoteric language that will alienate most potential buyers.

Avoid writing long biographies about your trials and tribulations beginning with childhood, grade school art work…

Avoid grandiose over-inflated jargon about yourself.

Avoid writing excessive quotes and references to famous artists.

Remember, if someone is interested in buying your art or showing your art in their gallery they are more interested in your current career credentials, not what you did as a child.

Read “10 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Artist’s Biography”

Also Read “How to Expand Your Short Artist’s Biography – 12 Great Ideas”

Do You Want Me to Write Your Artist’s Biography? Go to this page to find out how I can help you.

About Renee Phillips

Renée Phillips is a mentor and advocate for artists helping them achieve their fullest potential. She provides career advice, writing services, and promotion for artists from beginners to advanced. She organizes online exhibitions open to all artists as Director/Curator of Manhattan Arts International www.ManhattanArts.com and Founder of The Healing Power of ART & ARTISTS www.healing-power-of-art.org. As an arts' advocate she has served on the advisory boards of several non-profit arts organizations. She lives in New York, NY.

12/23 at 11:09 am

Thank you for sharing your invaluable insight into writing biographies etc.

I am in the process of entering a competition in the UK and I will certainly use your advice to help create my biography.

Accuracy of written content is clearly important to us both and I thought I would like to mention a typo you have made in your ‘Why do you need to write Your Artist’s Biography?’ section, where you have stated, ‘Add to your your exhibition press release.’ (the word ‘your’ repeated ).

I hope you won’t find offence in bringing this to your attention but obviously you want to keep an accurate page without errors.

Kind regards. Bill

12/24 at 11:42 am

Thank you Bill for reading my article and calling my attention to the typo in it. I have fired my assistant editor/proofreader for failing to catch it. Only joking. I greatly appreciate it. 🙂

11/03 at 11:18 am

Thank you so much for your most informative article full of guidance. I am currently assisting a homeless Indigenous artist to get off the streets and launch his art career.

12/24 at 12:14 am

I am a Volunteer with 30 Students approximately 25 active art students. Thay range in age from 4 to 75 with a love for art. I need help with helping them .write their bio and artist statements..Need direction on how to help and how to get help to support my group..I find it hard to get people to share information that will help you grow and thrive in thie art world. I have learned that I have a lot to learn a long road ahead I’m a 62 year old retired .,.nurse.I’ve been an artist for 12 years .

12/24 at 9:34 am

Dear Shirley, Thank you for the work you do helping art students. It must be also very gratifying for you. I love offering advice to artists. Please share this article with your group and suggest that they subscribe to my blog email newsletter to see new articles when they are published. I also suggest you read and share How to Write Your Artist’s Statement. Don’t get discouraged. It can be overwhelming to navigate the business of being an artist. Here’s a good article to read: Take Small Steps to Achieve Large Art Career Goals.t a time . As far as funding for your group, I don’t know where you live, but there are nonprofit organizations that serve as an “umbrella” for groups like yours. Keep going and best wishes to you and your students!

11/13 at 9:35 am

This site is so super amazing and super helpful! I was so happy to have my artist statement! Best Regards, Patrick !

03/20 at 1:13 am

This article was helpful for me but I want to know how I can write organizational biography? Do you have any idea about that, if you have, please share it with me?

Regards, Sumera

03/20 at 9:13 am

Hi Sumera, I’m glad you found the article helpful to you. What do you mean by an “organizational biography”? My guess is you may be referring to a biography of an organization, which would include such information as its mission statement and objectives, often with such categories as “Who We Are”, “What We Do”, “Benefits to Sponsors”, “Benefits to Members”, etc. If so, there are articles about art organizations on The Artrepreneur Coach website. Use this link to find examples of art organizations with good examples of their missions and objectives on their websites https://renee-phillips.com/?s=art+organizations I hope this information helps you.

05/21 at 6:33 pm

Thank you for the guideline. I found this very helpful and concise.

05/16 at 5:31 am

Hello Renee Thanks for this information. It is helpful to me and many more who need such insights.

07/09 at 5:45 pm

I have an artist who I think would really connect with you and benefit from your services. How do I get him connected?

Best Stephanie

07/10 at 6:56 pm

Hi Stephanie, Thank you for your interest in my services. Please direct the artist you know to this page: https://renee-phillips.com/career-coaching-for-artists/ . Information about my consulting and writing services, fees, testimonials and how to contact are all there or a click away. All the best, Renee

09/05 at 6:28 am

Thank you very much for this service , I am having my first show of my life , and am grateful that this help and the awesome advice , i feel blessed to share my work in some capacity to the rest of the World , Aloha

09/03 at 3:29 pm

I did not realize how important a good biography of myself needs to be. I thank you for your helpful tips. Can hardly wait for a more profitable future.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

How to Write an Artist Biography

What is the artist’s biography.

While an artist resume and artist CV may seem similar to many artists, the artist bio is quite a bit different.  The biography serves more as a story rather than the credentials.  Typically the biography is written in editorial style, rather than the listing format of a CV or resume.  

Your bio will be used in various places and many applications and calls for art require differing lengths of artist bios.  It’s a good idea to create a short and long version of your biography that you can have on hand for varying submission requirements.

Often times artist biographies are used on “About the Artist” pages on personal websites, social media platforms, cover letters for galleries, press releases and editorials, and call for entry adjudication.

What information should you include in your artist bio?

• Open with something that encapsulates you as an artist before beginning the more biographical information. “Jane Doe is known for her …”
• Where you reside
• Where you are from
• Formal education and training
• Your artistic influences
• What inspires you as an artist
• What techniques you use
• Artists you've worked under/with
• Awards you’ve won
• Recognitions from media (newspaper, radio, television, websites)
• Commissions and other accomplishments
• Art shows you have curated or judged
• Brief overview
• Links to any websites or recent publications
• Note: try to keep the length down 

When writing your artist biography keep your audience in mind

It’s typically a good idea to write you bio in ‘Third Person’, where you refer to yourself as ‘he or she’ instead of ‘me, I, or my’.  Know who will be reading your biography and tailor your writing for them.  Will they be interested in your upcoming projects or more interested in your historical work?  Basic demographics about your reading audience are also helpful such as age, gender, ethnicity, culture, etc.

Show your bio to another well-established artist  

Get another pair of eyes on your writing.  Have a fellow artist review your artist bio and give tips on items that can be excluded or items that should be included based on your artist style and portfolio. Think of this like a portfolio review for a student! It also helps to have a non-artist review the bio for editing mistakes or typos.

Don’t write just one

You’ll want to write at least two versions of your artist bio (a short form and longer form) as well as revise and add/remove information as your art portfolio and career evolve. For example, on a website artist biography, you have a bit more freedom with length, but for social media platforms and other online systems you may be limited to the amount of data accepted.

What to avoid

We’ve given several tips on items that should be included in your artist bio, but here are a few things you want to avoid in your biography:

• Field jargon or flowery language
• Self-praise – don’t get carried away with self-praise.  Keep facts simple and concise
• Repetition or lengthy wording
• Grammar and language mistakes
• Life situation or personal details (illness, addiction, overcoming obstacles, etc.)
• Quotes from other famous artists or authors.  This is  your biography

ArtCall.org Portfolio sites make publishing your artist bio incredibly easy, as we have a built in “About the Artist” page that has an editable field for Artist Bio and Artist Statement, as well as CV!  If you don’t already have your artist portfolio website setup, Setup Your Artist Website!

• Join Free Training

Writing An Artist Bio: The Ultimate Guide for Fine Artists

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As a visual artist, you may not consider yourself a writer, and that’s OK.

But your Artist Bio is an important piece of writing you do need to nail down.

You will need it for exhibition or gallery applications, artist websites, press releases, publicity materials, etc…

The good news is once you have it done and dusted, you won’t need to do it again!

At most, you will simply refine it over the years.

So read along, and let’s get your Bio done right…

Artist Statement and Artist Bio: What’s the difference?

The two powerful tools you can use to communicate the meaning and intentions behind your art to your audience are your artist statement and artist bio.

Your artist statement is a great way to share your creative process, inspiration, and philosophy with your audience. It’s like a manifesto for your art, where you can dive deep into what drives you to create and what you hope to achieve through your work.

On the other hand, your artist bio is like a snapshot of your artistic journey so far. It’s a potted history of your life as an artist, highlighting your achievements, experiences, and background. Your artist bio serves as an introduction to your work, and it helps your audience understand your perspective as an artist.

In other words, while your artist statement focuses on your art and medium, your artist bio is all about YOU as an artist.

When you introduce your art in your artist statement, it’s like saying, “Hey folks, check out my art!” But when it comes to your bio, you’re basically saying:

🙋‍♂️ “Hey folks, here’s a little bit about me!”

Important Considerations Before Crafting Your Artist Bio

We get it – talking about yourself can feel awkward, but the details about your passion, inspiration, and dreams are just as crucial as your artwork. People are naturally curious creatures, so it’s no surprise that viewers and readers want to know a bit about you. After all, your art is a reflection of who you are as a person and an artist.

There are a few things you might want to consider before you get started with your artist bio. Let’s go through them together!

✅  It’s OK to show a glimpse of your personality.

Starting off your artist bio with a hook is crucial to grabbing your readers’ attention.

A little bit of humor can go a long way in reeling them in and warming them up to both you and your art. So why not give it a shot and inject some personality into your bio?

✅  Your artist bio should not be too corporate—it’s not a CV or a resume.

When it comes to crafting your artist bio, it can be tempting to list out every single accomplishment and accolade you’ve received throughout your career.

But most of the time, less is often more.

Instead of overwhelming your readers with a laundry list of accomplishments, it’s important to be selective and choose only the most noteworthy and relevant highlights of your career. This will not only make your bio more concise and easier to read, but it will also give your readers a better sense of who you are as an artist.

Crafting Your Artist Bio: Tips and Tricks for Fine Artists

Okay, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get started on writing that artist bio.

To help you out, we’ve gathered some handy tips and tricks that will make the process easier and more effective.

✅  Write in the third person (e.g., he, she, his, hers, they)

Have you ever considered what someone else might write about you if given the task of crafting your bio?

It may seem like a strange exercise, but putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagining what they might say about you can be an incredibly helpful tool in crafting your own bio.

This exercise can help you identify the most important aspects of your career and artistry from an outsider’s perspective, as well as highlight any strengths or unique qualities that may not have been immediately apparent to you.

So, what might someone else write about you? Perhaps they would focus on your bold use of color or your ability to create intricate and detailed works of art.

Maybe they would highlight your commitment to environmentalism and the use of sustainable materials in your artwork. Or perhaps they would focus on your professional accomplishments and exhibitions.

Regardless of what they might say, the exercise of imagining someone else’s perspective can help you gain clarity and insight into your own career and artistic identity.

Use these insights to inform your own bio and make it truly stand out to potential clients and fans.

✅  Keep it concise and straight to the point.

As a fine artist, you want your artist bio to leave a lasting impression on your readers – but you don’t want to bore them with a lengthy essay. That’s why it’s important to use simple and direct sentences that will keep your readers engaged and interested in what you have to say.

By using concise language and avoiding complex sentence structures, you can make your bio easy to read and understand. This will not only help to hold your reader’s attention, but it will also give them a better understanding of who you are as an artist and what you have to offer.

So, the next time you sit down to write your artist bio, remember to keep it simple and direct. Your readers will thank you for it. 😉

✅  Be creative.

Your creativity is your greatest asset – and that should extend to your artist bio as well. While it can be tempting to stick to a standard format or template, your bio is an opportunity to showcase your unique personality and artistic style.

So, don’t be afraid to get creative with your bio!

Your bio can be a combination of

➡️ where you came from

➡️ where you went to school

➡️ your inspirations

➡️ your artistic process and philosophy

➡️ your interests

➡️ and your accomplishments as a human being.

All of these add more dimension to your narrative. You can tackle different angles, but make sure that the subject is always your artistic development.

But let’s be real, how can you make your bio stand out and tell a compelling story?

One way is to use timelines and narrative progression to organize your thoughts and show your artistic journey in a clear and coherent manner. Break down your career highlights into different time periods, so readers can see how your work has evolved over time and how you have grown as an artist.

To get started, make sure your timelines are easy to follow. Use bullet points or subheadings to separate different phases of your career and highlight your key achievements and milestones from each era.

And don’t forget about the importance of narrative progression – by framing your career journey as a progression from past to present , you can help readers understand how each phase of your career has influenced the next.

With these tips in mind, you can create a killer artist bio that showcases your artistic development and highlights the unique qualities that make you a standout in your field.

Should Previous Non-Art Related Degrees and Jobs Be Included in an Artist Bio?

The answer is simple – yes, you may include them! Your bio is the perfect place to share your unique journey as an artist.

The trick to including non-art-related experiences in your bio is to connect them with your current artistic career . How did those experiences shape your perspective and inspire your work? For instance, if you worked in the field of child welfare, how did that experience influence your artistic vision?

Including non-art-related experiences can make you a more interesting artist and give viewers a deeper understanding of who you are as a person. It’s not just about your art degree but about the experiences that make you who you are today.

When writing your bio, don’t keep your previous jobs and degrees separate from your artistic career. Integrate them into your story and tell your audience how they have impacted your artistic process.

What’s the Perfect Length for Your Artist Bio?

If you have been wondering how long your biography should be, we’ve got you covered!

Here are some pointers to help you decide on the length of your artist bio:

✅ Your biography can be as short as a few paragraphs or as long as two to three or four pages. It really depends on how much information you want to include.

✅ If you want to keep it short and sweet, a brief summary or biographical statement at the back of your portfolio or on your website is perfectly fine. This gives a quick overview of your background and accomplishments.

✅ If you want to provide more detail, an extensive biography can be very helpful and effective in making sales. This can be from three to seven pages long, written in the third person, and laid out in a magazine-style format. This type of bio is ideal for artists who want to give collectors a more in-depth look at their life and career.

✅ Your biography is a document that can evolve over time and can grow or shrink in length. Keep it up to date with your latest achievements.

✅ Sharing your background, life, and career development can help establish additional credibility for you as an artist. Potential buyers find it fascinating, and it creates a deeper connection with them.

✅ You can combine your short bio with elements of your artist statement to weave together your work and life. This can make your bio a little lengthier, but it gives readers a more holistic view of your artistic vision and process.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how long your artist bio should be. Consider your goals and the level of detail you want to share, and use that as a guide when crafting your biography.

Oops! Don’t Make These Mistakes When Writing Your Artist Bio

Did you make these mistakes when writing your artist bio? Don’t worry—it’s not too late to fix them! Let’s take a look at some of the most common pitfalls to avoid when crafting your artist bio.

✅  Poor Writing

When it comes to your artist bio, it’s crucial to make sure it’s well-written and polished. You don’t want any errors or awkward sentences to distract your audience from your amazing work.

So, take the time to proofread it multiple times and make sure it’s free of any mistakes. Even small writing errors can give off an unprofessional impression to your readers.

✅  Sharing too much information

While it can be tempting to include every detail of your life, it’s best to stick to information that is relevant to your artistic identity. Avoid sharing too much information about your personal life or unrelated accomplishments and instead focus on highlighting your artistic achievements and aspirations.

✅  Lack of personality

Let your artist bio be a reflection of your one-of-a-kind personality and style. Avoid using generic terms and concepts that make you sound like a robot. Instead, infuse your bio with your unique voice and perspective on life to make it stand out.

Ready to share your Artist Bio with the world? Here are a few things you should do first

So, you’ve written your artist bio, and you’re eager to share it with the world. But before you hit that publish button, there are a few crucial steps you should take to make sure your bio is polished and ready to impress.

✅  Read, reread, and proofread

Have you read your artist bio out loud yet? This is a crucial step in making sure that your bio sounds both natural and professional while still being approachable to your audience.

Now, chances are, your first draft is going to need a lot of trimming down. That’s why it’s important to reread it multiple times and make changes to any areas that need improvement.

And don’t forget to ask a friend to proofread it for you as well. They can give you valuable feedback on how to make it look and sound even better. Trust us, it’s always helpful to have a fresh set of eyes review your work!

✅  Have a fellow artist review your artist bio—hear that second opinion 😉

It’s always a good idea to have someone else take a look at your artist bio before sharing it with the world. And who better to turn to than a fellow artist? They can give you honest and objective feedback that can help you refine your message and make sure that your bio truly reflects your identity as an artist and your body of work.

So, if you have an artist friend who’s willing to take a look, don’t hesitate to send them a copy of your bio and ask for their thoughts. Ask them what they loved about it and what could be improved. Their insights could help clarify your message and make your bio even more effective.

How Often Should You Update Your Artist Bio?

Well, the answer is pretty straightforward – as often as you need to!

Your artist bio is an important tool for introducing yourself to potential buyers, galleries, and employers, so it should be kept up to date as your career progresses.

Revisiting your biography every year is a great way to ensure it still accurately represents your current work and achievements. As you continue to create new pieces and gain recognition, you’ll want to make sure your biography is showcasing your latest and greatest.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using an outdated biography. You may have created a biography early on in your career, and it may not be relevant anymore. That’s okay! Take some time to review and update it, and make sure it reflects your current work and accomplishments.

Your artist bio is a BIG deal.

And the good news is that once you have it ready, you feel a BIG relief.

It’s what can set you apart from the rest and help you connect with your audience. So, when you sit down to write it, take your time and put in the effort to craft something that really reflects who you are as an artist.

Your bio can add that extra layer of interest and intrigue to your art, so make it count!

Want one on one help with your bio? If you would like to have word-by-word artist bio templates, your own bio revised and edited by a professional art writer, then consider applying to our flagship program – the  Professional Artist Accelerator .

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Writing an artist’s biography

An artist biography (or ‘artists biog’) is a paragraph or two about you and your career as a practitioner. it may also contain a line about the key themes to your practice..

Biographies are often confused with other tools used for self-promotion. A biography differs from an artist’s CV in being only written in prose. An artist statement talks about the work and the thinking behind it. A biography talks about the person themselves.

What to include in your artists’ biog

The sort of key information in an artist’s biography might be:

• The medium you work in
• A line about the key themes, concerns of your practice.
• Your showing history
• Your art related education (degree level onwards)
• Other interesting information relevant to your practice or career as an artist (e.g. collaborations or arts collectives, other areas or aspects to your career that inform your practice)
• Where you live and work

Writing An Artist Biography

Published on

T he artist biography. It sounds so simple, right? Who is more equipped to write about your life and work than you? Well, sometimes it can be the hardest thing to write your own biography because you are too personally involved or are conscious about sounding too boastful. How do you decide which life events are important? Which aren’t? Organizing your own artistic journey into a succinct story can be a big challenge.

Luckily, we are here to help. In this guide, we’ll explain why you need an artist biography and what should be included in it. We will also offer an insight into what galleries are actually looking for when they read your artist biography.

Why Do I Need An Artist Biography?

It has become industry standard to have an artist biography prepared. It should be in your portfolio and on your website. Additionally, once you start exhibiting, this artist bio will find its way onto gallery websites, exhibition materials, and may even be quoted in interviews.

Useful Article: How To Create A Professional Portfolio

While you may want to customize your bio for every situation, it is a good idea to have one all-purpose text prepared at all times. Your artist biography is necessary for most competition entries, gallery and museum submissions, and promotional requests. It is one of the first things that anyone will reference on your website in order to decide if they would be interested in working with you.

What Is The Difference Between An Artist Biography, Artist CV, and Artist Statement?

Being an artist today can be a challenge. As the art industry expands, there is a growing demand for professionalism. There is a long list of necessary (and optional) documents and exhibition materials, like an Artist Statement , Business Cards , a Portfolio and so on.

You could obviously hire someone or collaborate with a representational gallery like Agora to take care of the marketing and publicity. However, there are three important documents that have to come from you – Artist CV, Artist Statement, and Artist Biography. People often confuse the three but they actually serve completely different purposes.

An Artist CV is a timeline of your education, your exhibition history, awards, projects, and press you’ve received. It tells a reader at a glance what you have done in the past, whether it includes previous exhibitions, employment, awards, etc., and lets them decide whether you are the right fit for the job/exhibition.

You could argue that it is basically the artist biography in list form. However, your artist biography includes more information about you as an artist and not just bullet points.

An artist bio talks about your work and your ideas and inspirations. It incorporates your history and connects how your life events have influenced your artwork.

Were you born in the center of New York City, but have always longed for a countryside lifestyle? Is that why you’re an acclaimed rural landscape painter? That’s not going to find its way onto your CV, but the artist biography is the perfect place for that information. Whatever you do, wherever you’re from, it all comes together to create your style and the artwork that you want to share.

Did You Know?  We have written a “How-To” article on creating virtually every document and exhibition material that you might need. Browse through our How-To Tutorials and Marketing Your Art categories of the blog for useful advice and ideas. 

An Artist Statement , on the other hand, is much more similar to your biography. More often than not, it is the front line of communication between an artist and the public. It will be used when you submit your portfolio to competitions, galleries, and museums. It is also usually displayed alongside your works during exhibitions and in galleries. This gives it a sort of flexible nature.

You might have to write a new statement for every exhibition if your works are versatile. The artist biography, however, remains more or less the same. You would only need to update it in case of any major changes to your status or developments in your work. Another major difference between the two documents is that an artist statement is always written in the first person while a biography always talks about you in the third person.

The infographic at the bottom of the page differentiates between all three of these essential artist documents.

Narrowing Down Your Artist Biography

No matter how old you are, you’ve lived a full life of major events and wonderful memories. However, your artist biography needs to be no longer than one printed page. For some submissions, it’ll be even shorter!

That’s why you need to narrow your artist biography down to the key points: show the reader where you’ve been and where you want to go as an artist . The best way to get started is to understand your own artistic path. By answering just a few key questions about yourself, you can figure out what those critical points were in your life that have most influenced your journey as an artist.

Sit down with a pen and paper and answer the following questions:

Take your answers and review them. Can you draw a line from any of your life events to your art today?

Once you have an idea, you’ll have to carefully work this into your life story in a way that seems focused, interesting, and (as painful as it may be) concise.

What Galleries/Museums/Press Are Looking For In Your Artist Biography

There isn’t a definitive list as to what facts you must include in your artist biography. Everybody’s different, and so are our stories. So what does Agora Gallery look for in an artist biography?

1. It is the right length

We said it before, but this biography should not be longer than one page. When you send in your artist biography, always check to see if they have word requirements. At Agora Gallery, we prefer that your artist biography is between 100-600 words.

2. It is written in the third person

Yes, you are writing about yourself, but this isn’t the time for “I” and “me” – now is the time for “he” or “she.” An artist biography should be something that can be printed word-for-word in an article or catalog. One or two self-quotations can add some personality and variety, but for the most part you’ll want to save your “I, Me, Mine” for your artist statement.

3. It is interesting and accessible

You don’t need to have been the first man on the moon to have an interesting story to tell. Your most decisive moments in life don’t need to be action-packed: your life may have been changed by something you thought of in the shower. Whether you have an adventure story or something low-key, tell your story in a way that we can relate to. A big part of that is keeping your tone clear and professional, yet not too clinical and detached.

4. We can read it

Proofread your artist biography. Have somebody else look at it, too. Even at Agora, we make sure everything is checked over by at least two people before it is published. Nothing looks less professional than a text littered with spelling and grammar mistakes.

On the other side of the same coin, don’t over-complicate your language. Using highly advanced vocabulary may prove that you’re educated, but it might also alienate many of your readers. The Hemingway Editor , a free online tool, can help you keep your writing from getting too complex.

5. It explains the history of your artwork

Help us draw that connection between you as an artist and your artwork. Let us see your artistic influences and your journey. Again, we don’t need a carbon copy of your CV, we want to know the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of your art. Mentioning other artists who have influenced your work can help contextualize your work and also add legitimacy to it.

6. It doesn’t exaggerate

Don’t hyperbolize. Art professionals know when they’re being lied to, and we aren’t impressed when artists say they’re the “best” in their fields. Which leads us to our next point…

7. It doesn’t judge your work on our behalf

The artist biography should talk about the story behind the work. Talk about your influences, your themes, and your journey. When discussing yourself, avoid words like “visionary,” “prolific,” “extraordinary,” or “genius.” Let the readers come to that conclusion for themselves.

8. It includes the “greatest hits.”

It is important to include some of your biggest achievements in your biography. Tell us about major exhibitions, sales, partnerships, and awards. Just remember to stay focused. You shouldn’t mention more than five achievements in your artist biography, or the writing, tone, and interest level will all suffer. This information can often fit nicely in your final paragraph.

9. It keeps us wanting more

Your biography should give us just enough to get a sense of you and your work, and it should make us want to see the works. So don’t write too much: don’t exhaust your reader with so many details that, by the end of it, they have no more energy to give to your works, your statement, or any of the rest of your portfolio.

Above all, you should feel confident and passionate about what you are writing. Not only are you selling your artwork, but you’re selling the artist behind those masterpieces.

Maintain , Update, And Grow

After all is said and done, make sure to remember that your artist biography will grow and change with you. Don’t be afraid to edit your bio as your artistic style changes, as inspirations come and go, or as techniques and subjects develop with time. No artist creates the exact same works over and over again, and your biography should reflect that movement through your artistic journey.

Stay in touch with us! Our Newsletter is packed with inspiring stories, art tips, and Agora Gallery’s latest exhibition announcements.

Sample Of An Artist Biography

Mary pearson.

After completing her degree, Mary delved even more into her photographic practice,which involved loss and regeneration of life. The images, that Mary takes on her walks in the landscape, are only part of the narrative. She uses the practice of burying her film negatives in the earth to allow the natural environment a voice. It is a collaboration between the artist and the land. Mary cherishes this connection with nature. She feels that the artistic exchange between the land and the artist opens up many opportunities.

Mary has also trained as a teacher, specializing in Further Education. She teaches 16-18-year-olds in order to help them foster the same enthusiasm that she has for photography. She is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Photography at Plymouth University alongside her teaching.

Mary was selected as one of the Graduates featured in Source Magazine (2014), Ffotogallery Cardiff.  In 2015, she was a finalist South West Graduate Prize. Her series called ‘Biosigna’ or Life Signals has been exhibited in London as well as in Bristol.

Mary lives and works in South Devon, surrounded by the sea and Dartmoor National Park.

As a promotional gallery, we take pride in the diverse group of artists from across the globe represented by us. Want to give your art more time, and leave the marketing and promotional hassles to someone else? Book an online career development consultation meeting today.

Give your art and your story a face.  An artist biography isn’t always just about the words. By including a headshot, you can help readers connect with you on a more personal level. Don’t have a good headshot? It’s easy to get one!

For more advice from the Agora Experts, subscribe to our newsletter . Stay tuned to the Agora Advice Blog for regular updates and more.

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22 responses to “Writing An Artist Biography”

Fantastic advice Algora. I will apply all of it to my journey as a chainsaw sculptor.

I need this site    https://www.agora-gallery.com/  for guest posting so please tell me a price.  If you have sites that accept guest posts, So send me the full list with all the metrics.

I am waiting for your positive response.  waiting and thanks  

Thank you so much for this information! I am writing my artist statement and biography for my first fine art showing outside of college education. I’m glad I found your article as I aim to launch my artistic career.

This may well be the best and most professional way to write an artist biography. I was searching about to find out whether to use my last name rather than first to write a 3rd person bio. While using the first name is more immediate and familiar, using my last name (though I don’t really like the impersonal-ness of it) is more formal and has more “bigness” to it. Thank you.

Thank you so much for the great article. It is very detailed, specific, and helpful. I certainly used it while I was struggling with my first Artist’s (photographer’s) Bio.

very helpful and necessary

Thank you for this valuble information and if ever I get resources enough I will be in touch with you to further help my career as a painter.

We are glad that our article proved useful and we’re looking forward to hearing back from you!

I am writing my first artist bio and statement for a juried show and I have to say that all this information has been absolutely fantastic! Really helpful, I feel like I have a place to start. Only questions is, is there a good font? and what about font size?

Hi Francesca! We’re glad our article was helpful! There is no rule of thumb when it comes to the font and sizes used, but our recommendation is to go for something classic, like Times New Roman or Arial, size 12 or 14.

A very useful and helpful link’s, Thanks!

Thank you so much that was really helpful

Thank you very much

thank you very much for this information. You inspire the right path for me.

Thank you for inspire me in never stop dreaming, since my age won’t be any obstacle to bring new artworks in your distinguish gallery. You will hear from me soon, this time is for sure. Thanks Mirza Zelaya-Cosio.

Yours has been the best advice I have found for writing bios. With it I hope to write a well composed biography. Thank you. Patricia Kent

Thank you, Patricia!

What a perfect read, i read each of the word you said in your post. This helps me a lot to start my own blog related to artist biographies. Thanks a lot.

Thanks so very much for this piece. In addition to being an artist, I also write self-help books (not on art! on personal development). It took me years before I realized that each of my professions fed the other and I finally put together a combined CV… but just a CV. It hadn’t occurred to me until I read through your very nicely conceived side-by-side lists that I would do well to work this into my bio as well! Much appreciated!

Thanks for the clear advice about preparing an artist’s biography. There is one area that I have concerns about: the need to include the artist’s date of birth. Unless an exhibition, residency or award has a specific age focus, it is unwise to include this information as it undoubtedly influences those with entrenched ageist attitudes. Can a person be an ’emerging artist’ at 40, 50, 60 or 70 and beyond? Of course they can!! I met a 72 year old artist at an international residency, s/he was inspiring and utterly dedicated. In Australia ( and I suspect elsewhere), such discrimination is rampant and, while it is never acknowledged openly, there is no doubt that it becomes a factor in selection and promotion of an artist. My advice to artists is to allow the reader to focus on your commitment, achievements and artistic journey. Any gallery worth showing in does not concern itself with the age, or indeed the gender identification, of the artist whose works they are considering.

Absolutely, Gillian! Agora Gallery never requires that an artist biography includes the date of birth. For some, it may be an interesting fact to include, but age is by no means a “‘required” piece of information. Many of our artists began their careers in full after retirement, so we’re well aware that one shouldn’t judge talent by youth!

Thank you for reading & lending your thoughts. We hope to hear from you again!

Thanks so much for publishing all these helpful and informative tutorials.

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The Gallery’s Guide to Writing Good Artist Bios

Including artist bios on your gallery’s website is an excellent way to engage readers and collectors, and to help you frame your gallery’s artistic focus and position the artists you represent. A good artist bio will inspire collectors to want to find out more about the artists and their work and lead them to keep browsing the artist’s works on your website. See the artist bios as your artists’ business cards – you want them to stand out, to provide all the essential information, and to convince collectors to become interested and, eventually, to reach out and buy works. Read on to discover how to write a stellar artist bio thanks to our 10 tips.

1. Create a concise summary

An artist bio should concisely summarise the artist’s practice. It’s not about covering an artist’s entire CV or full biography. Focus on a few main points that you believe to best introduce the artist and their art. Always include the medium, themes, techniques, and influences the artist works with.

2. Use clean, simple language

Use clean, simple language and avoid academic jargon and exaggerated language. Readers respond to authentic, simple texts and will take you much more seriously than if you use over-embellished language.

3. Grab the attention with a creative first sentence

Try to start the bio with a first line that is not simply a standard biographical introduction. Instead, be more creative and write a first sentence that grabs your readers’ attention while also telling them what is the most important thing about this artist and their work.

4. Include the artist's date of birth and nationality

Always add the date of birth (and in the case of artists who have passed away, the date of death) and the nationality of the artist. Also mention where they are mainly based – readers are interested in knowing where an artist is living and working, as this adds to a certain understanding about the artist’s influences and way of working.

5. Keep the bio around 120 words

The bio should be between 80 and 140 words. An ideal artist bio is 120 words. Research at museums has shown that visitors lose interest in reading wall labels accompanying art works after 150 words. That’s why it’s better to limit your word count to around 120 words – your readers will get enough information and be curious to learn more on their own, without getting bored and leaving your page because they don’t want to read an unnecessarily long text.

6. Discuss medium, techniques and style

Include all the important tangible aspects of the artist’s practice including: the medium and techniques the artist uses and the artistic style. Give examples of the artist’s key works that clearly elucidate these qualities.

7. Describe the main themes

Describe the main themes which the artist depicts in the work. What are the subjects and issues that inspire the themes in the artist’s pieces?

8. Position the artist in art history

Briefly reflect on the artist’s position in art history. What makes this artist important, what impact does he or she have on the history of art, which artists have influenced this artist and in what way has the artist redefined a certain medium or artistic technique?

9. Place the artist in his/her specific context

Position the artist in his or her cultural, political, social or technological context. Consider which events and which influences from the artist’s background and everyday life influence the way they work, and the art they produce.

10. Add a relevant quote

If you can find a short, relevant quote from the artist which supports the above-mentioned points, it can be a nice touch to add this to the bio in order to make it stand out more as an engaging, original piece.

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How to Write an Artist Bio – Background Information Writing Tips

Writing an artist biography (shortened as artist bio) is often associated with the less fun, administrative side of practicing art. However, writing an artist bio can be a stimulating exercise that leads to clarity and more opportunities. In this article, we will look at what an artist biography is, what to include in an artist bio, and some artist bio examples to ultimately understand how to write an artist bio. 

Table of Contents

• 1.1 What Is an Artist Biography?
• 1.2 What to Include in an Artist Bio
• 2.1 Example One: Short Artist Biography
• 2.2 Example Two: Extended Artist Biography
• 3.1 What Will Make You Stand Out?
• 3.2 Do a Brain Dump
• 3.3 Consider Clarity
• 3.4 Ask a Friend to Proofread Your Final Text
• 3.5 What Should I Avoid When Writing an Artist Bio?
• 4.1 What Is an Artist Bio?
• 4.2 What Should I Write in an Artist Bio?
• 4.3 Why Is an Artist Bio Important?

How to Write an Artist Bio

Making art is the most important part of being an artist, but often communicating what they do to the world is neglected by artists. Your practice and artworks might make sense to you, but you cannot assume everyone will understand them simply by looking at them. Generating support materials that essentially “translate” your artworks into clear text for viewers to read is just as important as making the art itself.

Support materials include your website, artist CV , artist biography, artist statement, business cards, and elevator speech.  

Many artists are not sure how to write an artist bio and therefore avoid doing so altogether. This can lead to a scramble just before a deadline, or the generation of an unclear and incomplete text. If you see writing your artist bio as an exercise in defining how you want to present yourself to the world, it can be a fun and enlightening exercise.

What Is an Artist Biography?

Artists often confuse an artist bio with an artist statement. An artist statement provides conceptual reasoning that explains the concepts, symbols, subjects, and methods of the work you create. It goes into a detailed rationale of why and how your work is created. An artist statement can be specific to a certain exhibition or body of work or be a general statement about your art practice.

An artist biography is a summary of the artist’s life and career. It gives a clear and brief account of what the artist has achieved in their career up to the present moment, the mediums, and communities they work in as well as any other experiences relevant to their body of work. In an artist bio, you can introduce the main themes of your work, but reserve the conceptual explanations for your artist statement.

Artist bios are often included in exhibitions, competitions, funding, collection texts, and so on. Individuals working in the film, music, literature, theater, poetry, and fine arts industries have to have an artist bio, as it is often required as part of submissions to qualify for opportunities to show your work. If you are marketing on social media, on your website, or doing self-organized exhibitions, it is also good to have a bio available for buyers and viewers to read about who you are and what you have done.

An artist bio can create a personal connection between you and the viewer of your work. It should be a punchy, compact text that is easy to read and straight to the point. That being said, the beginning or ending sentence of your bio can include some of your artist values to express the philosophy behind your art practice. Again, avoid expanding too much on these subjects and rather explore them further in your artist statements.

Your artist bio can also be tailored for specific use. For example, you might want the bio on your website to be more extensive and personal, whereas a bio submitted for a museum might focus on a specific era of your career relevant to the works on display.

What to Include in an Artist Bio

There are many ways to write an artist bio. A traditional approach would be a professional, academically styled, summarized CV, but this does not mean that it is the only “correct” way to write an artist bio. You can style your bio to reflect your artist personality and style of working.

It is a great idea to write a long and short version of your artist bio. Cap the short version at 250 to 300 words, as many submissions limit the word count. A more extensive bio is good to have at hand for publications, articles, and your website.

A professional artist bio that is submitted for open calls and publication is written in the third person. When writing your artist bio, you have to use your name and surname in the first sentence. From there, you can decide if you want to use your first name or last name to refer to yourself in the text (see the example bios below for reference). If you want your artist bio to be more personal on your website, you can write it in the first person.

Your bio should include where you were born, where and what you studied, where you are based or work from, what mediums you practice in as well as the general subject your artworks address. Including these elements in the introductory paragraph of your bio is a good way to give the reader a general understanding of your background and who you are as an artist.

Think of your bio as a longhand version of your CV. It should therefore include any exhibitions you were part of, competitions you won, residencies you attended, the funding you received, and any other relevant art achievements throughout your career. If you have been practicing for a long time or have been part of many shows and events, choose the most esteemed achievements to include in your artist bio.

Remember to include the associated institutions, galleries, and persons in each listed achievement. This adds professional credibility to your work. It also acts as a reference so that the panel or judges reading your bio can follow up with said institutions or galleries to find out how it was working with you.

What Is an Artist Bio Example?

Artists approach biographies in different ways. It is a good idea to read as many artist biographies as possible before deciding on what style you want to use. You can google famous artists’ bios or read the printed text at exhibitions you attend.

Example One: Short Artist Biography

In 2020, [Artist Name] created a series of ZOOM performances with Lumkile Mzayiya called Evoked? These performances led her to create exclusive performances from her home in 2021 to accommodate the mid-pandemic audience. She also started focusing more on the sustainability of creative practices in the last three years and now offers creative coaching sessions to artists of all kinds. By sharing what she has learned from a 10-year practice, [Artist Name] hopes to relay more directly the sense of vulnerability with which she makes art and the core belief of her practice: Art is an immensely important and powerful bridge of communication that can offer understanding, healing, and connection.

Example Two: Extended Artist Biography

As part of the Rhizome Artist Residency in 2018, [Artist Name] further explored the theme of public memory and identity. In collaboration with Korean artists, she improvised spontaneous engagements with the audience led to questions around race, voice, violence, and identity, which she continued to unpack after completing the 10-month residency.

TLC brought together a community of collaborating artists. The collective offered visual artists informal critique sessions, and emotional support and aimed to create a safe space for artists to develop together. In June and July 2019, [Artist Name] co-curated a series of immersive art events titled, Senses of the Seasons, with TLC partner Livia Schneider. These multi-sensory art happenings focused on satisfying the creative desires of young artists in the heart of Cape Town.

Painted Mantras , [Artist Name]’s first solo exhibition of paintings, showed at the University of Stellenbosch Gallery in October 2019. This exhibition formed a collection of visual mantras painted in oil on canvas.

In November 2019, [Artist Name] performed Take Flight as part of Infecting the City Live Art Festival in collaboration with Duduzile Mathebula, King Debs, Spirit Mba, and Kirsten Warries. A series of collaborative performance pieces that linked to her first public engagement during #FeesMustFall in 2016 as part of Open Forum Residency titled, Flight .

In 2020, [Artist Name] created a series of ZOOM performances with Lumkile Mzayiya called Evoked? These performances led her to create exclusive performances from her home in 2021 to accommodate the mid-pandemic audience. She also started focusing more on the sustainability of creative practices during Covid-19 by offering creative coaching sessions to artists of all kinds and she teaches painting every week from her home in Fish Hoek.

By creating complex sensory art experiences that involve the body of the viewer through taste, smell, sound, and often through the physical engagement with her artworks, [Artist Name] hopes to relay more directly the sense of vulnerability with which she makes art and the core belief to her practice: Art is an immensely important and powerful bridge of communication that can offer understanding, healing and connection.

What Exercises to Do When Writing an Artist Bio

Starting an artist bio can feel daunting, but the exercise of writing through everything you have done in your life, when you started making art, your training and why you make art can translate into more content for your website, social media, or marketing material. Here are a few exercises to start and refine your text:

What Will Make You Stand Out?

Ask yourself what will make you stand out. Your bio should be professional but should also grab the reader’s interest. Including an artist’s value, philosophy, or story about where your art practice started can help the reader connect to you.

Do a Brain Dump

A brain dump is a conscious stream of writing exercise where you leave the grammatical and editorial considerations for later. Start writing your whole story without worrying about sentence construction or if it makes sense. Write as much as possible and continue writing until you feel like you have written everything about your experience, achievements, and ways of practicing art. After you have written everything down, you can edit this rough draft into a neat and concise text.

Consider Clarity

It is important to keep your sentences short and only include the relevant achievements and training in your artist bio. Make sure these achievements are listed chronologically and that you have included who trained you or granted you the opportunity. Cut unnecessary facts about your life and keep the text specific to you as an artist. This is where writing a shortened version of your bio can be a good exercise, as you will have to consider the essence of what you want to communicate and get straight to the point.

Ask a Friend to Proofread Your Final Text

Ask a friend that knows you well and is good at writing to read your first draft. You can exchange a small artwork, take them for lunch or help them write their bio as well for this service they provide. Often getting an outside perspective can bring insight into what you might have to add but did not.

What Should I Avoid When Writing an Artist Bio?

Conceptual thinking and physically making something mostly come easier to artists than the administrative side of practicing art. This makes framing yourself and communicating what you do to the world hard as artmaking is often informed by the abstract and metaphorical part of the brain. Make sure your bio makes sense and is professional. Avoid using abstract and metaphorical language, as this kind of writing is reserved for conceptual reasonings or exhibition texts.

Make sure you do not get hung up on being too formal or trying to sound smart. It is important that your bio is authentic, factual, and reflects who you are as an artist. You do not have to impress readers with art history or lengthy words.

Most people just expect to read about who you are and what you have done in your artist bio. Do not include opportunities you applied for but did not get.  

Choose a font and style that is easy to read and professional. A bio is not where you assert your brand identity but rather a professional text that should be easily navigated. You can always design exhibition flyers to reflect your personal brand, but make sure your general bio adheres to an acceptable style for any opportunity.

Artists often write one bio at the beginning of their career and then forget to update it. Your bio should be updated at least every six months. If you are selected for a big opportunity, immediately add it to your bio so you do not forget in the future or submit an outdated text for new opportunities.

Writing an artist bio is a necessary step in creating a professional art practice. It should be a considered and clear text that reflects all the wonderful things you have done up until the present moment in your career. The administrative side and how well you manage it is often what makes or breaks an artist, so be sure to invest focused time and research in writing your artist bio.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an artist bio.

Your bio should be a shortened, written-out version of your resumé. It is part of the support materials for an artist’s work, just like your website, business cards, and exhibition statements. It is a piece of text that accompanies an artist’s work so the viewer can understand who made the work and what they have achieved in their career.

What Should I Write in an Artist Bio?

There is often confusion as to what to include in an artist bio, but there are a few essential elements. You should start with your name, where you are from, and the mediums you work with. Include your training, exhibitions, and any other art achievements you have attained in your career thus far. Prioritize the achievements associated with the most esteemed establishments and take out any exhibitions or events that have become irrelevant to your practice when you update your bio every six months.

Why Is an Artist Bio Important?

Without an artist bio, the viewers of your work will not know who you are, why you practice, or what you have achieved. You cannot assume that everyone will read your resume. This is where a short artist bio is helpful, as it is supposed to be an engaging text that shares all of your most important achievements with those interested in your work.

Nicolene Burger is a South African multi-media artist, working primarily in oil paint and performance art. She received her BA (Visual Arts) from Stellenbosch University in 2017. In 2018, Burger showed in Masan, South Korea as part of the Rhizome Artist Residency. She was selected to take part in the 2019 ICA Live Art Workshop, receiving training from art experts all around the world. In 2019 Burger opened her first solo exhibition of paintings titled, Painted Mantras, at GUS Gallery and facilitated a group collaboration project titled, Take Flight, selected to be part of Infecting the City Live Art Festival. At the moment, Nicolene is completing a practice-based master’s degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town.

In 2020, Nicolene created a series of ZOOM performances with Lumkile Mzayiya called, Evoked?. These performances led her to create exclusive performances from her home in 2021 to accommodate the mid-pandemic audience. She also started focusing more on the sustainability of creative practices in the last 3 years and now offers creative coaching sessions to artists of all kinds. By sharing what she has learned from a 10-year practice, Burger hopes to relay more directly the sense of vulnerability with which she makes art and the core belief to her practice: Art is an immensely important and powerful bridge of communication that can offer understanding, healing and connection.

Nicolene writes our blog posts on art history with an emphasis on renowned artists and contemporary art. She also writes in the field of art industry. Her extensive artistic background and her studies in Fine and Studio Arts contribute to her expertise in the field.

Learn more about Nicolene Burger and the Art in Context Team .

Cite this Article

Nicolene, Burger, “How to Write an Artist Bio – Background Information Writing Tips.” Art in Context. September 4, 2022. URL: https://artincontext.org/how-to-write-an-artist-bio/

Burger, N. (2022, 4 September). How to Write an Artist Bio – Background Information Writing Tips. Art in Context. https://artincontext.org/how-to-write-an-artist-bio/

Burger, Nicolene. “How to Write an Artist Bio – Background Information Writing Tips.” Art in Context , September 4, 2022. https://artincontext.org/how-to-write-an-artist-bio/ .

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The Most Famous Artists and Artworks

Discover the most famous artists, paintings, sculptors…in all of history! 

MOST FAMOUS ARTISTS AND ARTWORKS

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Symbiotic Art

By Claire Pentecost

Claire Pentecost

“HOW BIG IS HERE?” is a question the artist duo Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison have asked themselves repeatedly over the course of their sixty-year career. It’s an ecologist’s question, one that reminds us that the living world is made up of numerous nested ecosystems. Where does one system end and another begin? Asking this question became routine for the Harrisons after they decided, at some point in the 1970s, that they would undertake only those art projects that benefit the environment. “Environment,” they discovered, is tricky to define. They started with agriculture—first making topsoil, then growing crops in it—before constructing fish farms in museums, producing portable orchards, and serving museum-grown food to art crowds. Since then, they have envisioned the restoration of rivers and watersheds in practical detail from California to Yugoslavia. They have consulted on urban planning projects in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. When global warming was barely a mote in the public eye, they produced maps and other artifacts reflecting its likely effects. In all their work,  they found that defining the relevant “environment”—the here of the question—was part of the creative task.

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Interviewing Newton Harrison in 2018, I asked him to give me an example of how-big-is-here thinking. At the time, I was researching the Mississippi River, so we used that waterway as an example. I asked if the environment included melting snowpacks and their runoff carrying elements of soil throughout the watershed. “Keep going,” said Newton. The tributaries, the confluences with other large rivers, the delta, the Gulf of Mexico? “Keep going.” He meant the connected oceans, the respiring trees, the clouds, the rain, but also the toxins in the water, the dams and levees, all the human interventions, in fact, the whole hydrological system from the molecular scale to the weather and back again.

The Harrison Studio espouses systems thinking, an artistic trend the critic Jack Burnham identified in his 1968 Artforum essay “Systems Esthetics.” Systems thinking has become a major conceptual tool in the biological sciences, and Burnham proposed applying it to art. A system is a set of parts that interact, typically through feedback. A cell is the archetypal biological system; Gaia, a name for the planetary-scale system of life on Earth, is the largest system known to biology. In the years since Burnham published his essay, bio art —art that involves living beings and biological processes—has become a meeting ground for scientific and artistic ecosystemic thinking.

When I wrote about bio art in the early years of this century, the Brazilian-American artist Eduardo Kac had just reportedly commissioned a French laboratory to genetically engineer a rabbit, Alba (2000), to glow by expressing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) extracted from a jellyfish. At the time, the GFP bunny, seen publicly only in photographs, more or less defined the artistic genre we call bio art, a name Kac himself is thought to have coined in 1997.

Kac wrote extensively about the relationship he intended to develop with his transgenic pet (ultimately, the lab wouldn’t let him take Alba home), anticipating other artists’ interest in interspecies kinships, but something was missing: Kac was focused on the object of synthetic biology rather than its means of production; his GFP bunny project missed an opportunity to illuminate an emerging biocultural ecology. Put differently, How big is the here of bio art?

OVER THE LAST FEW decades, bio art has gone forth and multiplied, enlarging its purview from synthetic biology to incorporate the Harrisons’ environmental concerns, their recognition that symbiotic systems govern both biological and cultural realities. Artists have been taking cues from the evolving field of biology itself, which has been upturning some of our cherished ideas about the ways that organisms exist, evolve, and cohabit in a dynamic earth system now threatened with irreversible anthropogenic disruptions.

One of those artists is the New York–based Anicka Yi , who has become known for bottling biological cultures and deploying them as fragrances. The work she showed in her breakout 2015 exhibition, “You Can Call Me F” at the Kitchen in New York—bacterial blooms and a fragrance made using swabs from the bodies of 100 art world women—offered visitors a physical confrontation with the invisible but highly potent world of microscopic organisms, a world we associate with disease and have been conditioned to fear.

Yi’s 2017 exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, “Life Is Cheap,” highlighted her collaboration with molecular biologists and forensic chemists. Hanging in the air was Immigrant Caucus , a scent created from chemical compounds derived from Asian American women and carpenter ants. Displayed in the gallery were two dioramas: Force Majeure , a climate-controlled chamber lined with framed silk flowers and agar plates mottled by amorphous constellations in reds and russets, moldy greens and bruise purples that were, in fact, vigorous growths of bacteria collected from sites in New York City’s Chinatown and Koreatown; and Lifestyle Wars , a transparent case containing a network of transparen tubes inhabited by live ants and tangled with ethernet cables to suggest a motherboard.

Yi’s artworks may involve capturing molecules, but they are not about isolating single objects; there is no rabbit in the hat. Instead, they gather and cultivate bacterial signatures of environments, whether the territory in question is an urban enclave populated by working-class immigrants or elite galleries and museums populated by art professionals (or a motherboard populated by ants, which interested Yi in part for their use of scent trails). Her work brings us into a world of living effluvia that, even when it’s derived from a human body, feels disturbingly foreign. Yi is one of many artists rendering visible our embeddedness in the microbial realm.

Human bodies, as biologists increasingly emphasize, are on a continuum with our environments, a continuum mediated by the microbial mesh. In turn, bio art and eco art are converging, insisting that living beings exist in complex webs of interrelations.

Central to that confluence are the ideas of the late evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis (1938–2011), who contended that understanding symbiotic relationships is key to understanding the past and present biosphere. Symbiosis refers to any of several living arrangements between members of two different species. There are three types of symbiotic relationship: mutualistic, in which both partners benefit; parasitic, where one organism benefits at the expense of the other; and commensal, in which one organism benefits while the other is unaffected.

Human symbionts—residents of the gut, the orifices, the skin—enable omnivorous dietary habits, regulate the immune system, protect against pathogenic bacteria, and produce a range of essential vitamins, to name just a few of their known functions. About half the cells in the human body are those of microbial symbionts. Margulis—now something of a cult figure among many bio artists—championed the theory of endosymbiotic evolution, which describes what was perhaps the biggest leap for life on Earth—the one from cells without nuclei (prokaryotic) to cells with nuclei (eukaryotic). This change led from a world populated solely by bacteria to one whose inhabitants included bacteria plus diverse other life-forms. Margulis spent her life proving that endosymbiosis was the secret to that leap. Put simply, she proposed that one single-celled creature engulfed another, but didn’t digest it; the engulfed organism continued to function inside the host, and eventually became what we now know as the nucleus. The most dramatic development in the evolutionary history of life, Margulis argued, came about not through competition between species, but through cooperation. Perhaps not surprisingly, she was at one time accused of being a communist.

NEW FORMS OF COOPERATION have opened up the whole field of biology, especially for artists. Along with the GFP bunny, the year 2000 also saw the launch of SymbioticA, a visionary research lab dedicated to artistic inquiry in the life sciences. Hosted by the University of Western Australia, the lab is the brainchild of artist-researchers Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr. It was the first of numerous similar ventures that render the methods and technology of biologic study transparent and accessible. Most subsequent examples are likewise affiliated with educational institutions: the Coalesce BioArt Lab at SUNY Buffalo, Biofilia at Aalto University in Finland, Suzanne Anker’s Bio Art Lab at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and New York University’s WetLab. The past decade has also seen a proliferation of DIY open access labs, like Genspace in Brooklyn; Counter Culture Labs in Oakland, California; Incubator Art Lab at the University of Windsor, in Canada; and Baltimore Underground Science Space (BUGSS), to name just a few. The trend extends online: Hackteria.org is a global network of open-source community platforms connecting individuals who share an interest in hacking living systems. All these undertakings are intensively transdisciplinary, encompassing scientists, artists, technology buffs, and people from many other walks of life. In addition to providing access to equipment, specialized knowledge, and the opportunity to experiment, they are alive with the ethical debates inherent to any endeavor that involves living tissue and DNA.

One of the main tenets of science and technology studies is that labs are cultural spaces. Community biology facilities are deliberately and self consciously social. Participants are hacking the exclusivity of expertise. Individual artists, too, have taken up “workshopology,” as Hackteria calls it. Mary Maggic, for instance, has built an accessible sphere around biohacking estrogen, and has also made work concerning hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment. In videos and lectures, the nonbinary Chinese-American artist will teach you to extract estrogen from urine to use in hormone replacement therapy, as soon as you get your hands on some unusual but obtainable equipment and materials—things like a vacuum pump for solid phase extraction, cigarette filters, smashed silica gel, broken glass bottles, and methanol. Maggic disrupts the biopolitical subjugation of female and trans bodies that currently results from managed access to hormones. The artist’s system of DIY lay scientific protocols aims at what they call “the emancipation of the estrogen biomolecule.” Although Maggic has produced curious and seductive paraphernalia, the autonomous art object is, appropriately, nowhere in sight.

Looming large in Maggic’s artistic genealogy is the 30-year-old art collective Critical Art Ensemble (CAE), which seeks to empower individuals to understand and control the biochemicals in their own bodies and environments. CAE’s systems-oriented bio art projects almost always include a related publication (all the group’s books are available for download from its website) presenting concise details of its members’ research and analysis. In Free Range Grains (2003–04), produced in collaboration with the late artist Beatriz da Costa and molecular biologist Shyh-shiun Shyu and presented in Germany and Austria, anyone could bring a box of breakfast cereal to have it tested for traces of genetic modification. The products were tested in a live, performative demonstration of public science, using the sort of mobile laboratory that anyone can put together for a modest price. Part of the point was to demystify a process surrounded by misunderstanding and rhetoric. Simultaneously,  the work drew attention to the global food system, showing that, even though the EU forbids the production and sale of GMOs, it is impossible to avoid contamination. The performances allowed for open-ended conversation about GMO crops and the environmental risks they pose, as well as corporate control of agriculture.

CAE projects went a long way in exposing and intervening in corporate agricultural systems, but their artistic successors are going even further, proposing alternatives to the known harms of corporate expertise. Brooke Singer is addressing the ecological malfeasance of industrial agriculture—such as nitrogen pollution, carbon emissions, and soil degradation—by developing tools for her audience to analyze and influence the biochemical makeup of soil. She launched “Carbon Sponge” in 2018, a site for ongoing workshops dedicated to understanding and implementing methods to sequester carbon in urban agricultural projects. Since conceiving the idea during a residency at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, Singer has entered into partnerships with an impressive list of institutional collaborators and funders, including universities, farms, and museums.

“Carbon Sponge” bridges art and science in a transparent, participatory theater of processes by taking a deep dive into the biological microcosmos of healthy living soils, where bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa exchange nutrients for the carbohydrates plants produce photosynthetically. The project has fostered an interdisciplinary community around two questions: What are the methods of cultivating soils that can counteract dangerous levels of CO2 in the atmosphere by sequestering significant amounts of carbon in soil? And, can any nonspecialist learn to test those methods by tracking quantities of carbon sequestered in or lost from soil over time?

One of the latent implications of Singer’s work is the ecological truth that our bodies are only as healthy as the environment we inhabit. For artist Natalie Jeremijenko, this means considering health as a collective issue and as a de facto proxy for the public good. She runs an environmental health clinic at New York University called xClinic, whose logo includes a red cross tilted slightly to read as an X. The clinic creates designs for interventions into everyday life, like the Farmacy AgBag (2011), a sack of live plants in good soil in a Tyvek envelope that can be hung off railings, windows, or parapets. Tyvek retains moisture and protects the soil from airborne pollutants. The plants do their part by extending through slits in the bag, raising the local leaf area index, and helping remove toxins from the air. Jeremijenko calls this “mutualistic infrastructure.”

Under the umbrella of mutualism, Jeremijenko has also made art that engages nonhuman species. Her outdoor installation Moth Cinema (2012) shines a bright light on a blank projection screen at night, attracting moths to create an open-air movie. Viewers can watch the action as moths cluster in the beam, while their shadows play their doubles on the screen. But there is something for the moths, too: when they flock to the light, they find a flowering pollinator garden planted all around the outdoor cinema. The audio component features two tracks playing different forms of a commissioned anthem: one track is detectable to humans; the other runs a subsonic translation of the music, which “blinds” the radar system of the moths’ predators, bats. This creates a safe zone for moths which, as pollinators, are second only to bees and, like them, are endangered by agrochemicals and habitat destruction.

Kathy High explores a very particular kind of mutualism—trans-species solidarity. She works with transgenic animals (those into which one or more genes of another species have been incorporated) to contrast two systems: the highly technologized laboratory procedures that produce and instrumentalize such animals, and the infrastructure of empathy between different species bound by common maladies. High had to overcome a rat phobia in order to live with and care for retired lab rats, hoping both to give them a better life and express gratitude for the role they played in her own treatment for an autoimmune disease. These genetically engineered rats had been used in medical experiments testing treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other afflictions. For a project called Embracing Animal (2004–06), High treated three of them with the same alternative therapies she was using to treat her own Crohn’s disease, at the same time providing them an expansive and enriching environment where they could experience different foods, spaces, and each other in ways that a laboratory prohibits. This setup—allowing the rats plenty of room to roam, hide, scurry through tunnels, and generally play with each other—was on view for ten months in the 2005 exhibition “Becoming Animal: Art in the Animal Kingdom” at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, where an estimated 10,000 visitors a month could commune with the creatures and learn about transgenic lab specimens.

Such projects are a welcome sign that we as human beings are growing increasingly aware of all the life-forms we depend on, even as we face the endangerment and extinction that come with climate change. Simultaneously, Indigenous scholars are drawing attention to peoples who know what it means to see life as infinitely connected, not in a hierarchy with human “stewards” at the top in the earthly realm, but in interlocking cycles of reciprocity. A world of relations is being certified as the biological truth of our planetary system. These artists are making sure we recognize it.

This article appears in the March 2022 issue, pp. 36 –43 .

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Definition of Biography

Common examples of biographical subjects, famous examples of biographical works, difference between biography, autobiography, and memoir, examples of biography in literature, example 1:  savage beauty: the life of edna st. vincent millay  (nancy milford).

One of the first things Vincent explained to Norma was that there was a certain freedom of language in the Village that mustn’t shock her. It wasn’t vulgar. ‘So we sat darning socks on Waverly Place and practiced the use of profanity as we stitched. Needle in, . Needle out, piss. Needle in, . Needle out, c. Until we were easy with the words.’

Example 2:  The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens  (Claire Tomalin)

The season of domestic goodwill and festivity must have posed a problem to all good Victorian family men with more than one family to take care of, particularly when there were two lots of children to receive the demonstrations of paternal love.

Example 3:  Virginia Woolf  (Hermione Lee)

‘A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living’: so too with the biography of that self. And just as lives don’t stay still, so life-writing can’t be fixed and finalised. Our ideas are shifting about what can be said, our knowledge of human character is changing. The biographer has to pioneer, going ‘ahead of the rest of us, like the miner’s canary, testing the atmosphere , detecting falsity, unreality, and the presence of obsolete conventions’. So, ‘There are some stories which have to be retold by each generation’. She is talking about the story of Shelley, but she could be talking about her own life-story.

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Writing About Art

• The Biography

Although visual and stylistic analyses are fundamental to the practice of art history, the most familiar way of grouping art is by artist.  The relationship is so close that common English usage drops the “by” in “a painting by Manet,” so that it becomes “a Manet painting” or even “a Manet.”  In the last, only the small word “a” indicates that the “Manet” being discussed is an object rather than a person.  This assumption of an intimate and important connection between the maker and the made has very practical implications.  It rests on the belief that the actual historical person matters, the person who was born on a certain day and died on another.  Exactly how and why the person matters is what determines how and why the life is important.  This, in turn, will determine the questions considered in a biography.  Like all assumptions of critical analysis, biographical ones should be examined closely.

The identity of the artist has been regarded as one of the most important facts about a work of art for centuries in the West.  Beginning with the Greeks, names of great artists have seemed to be worth recording, and stories about them exist even when their works do not.  Pliny the Elder and Pausanias, two Romans whose writings are among the richest sources of information about Greek art, approached their subjects as today’s art historians do – from the distance of centuries, gathering what was said in older sources without necessarily having seen the original works. 52 The first history of art in the post-Classical world, Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists , published in Italy in the mid-16th century, also organizes the art in terms of the biographies of its makers.  Since Vasari was a contemporary or near-contemporary of the artists, his vivid anecdotes suggest the authority of personal knowledge. 53

Even assuming that the identity of the artist is an essential part of understanding a work of art, however, different artists suggest different questions, and different historians write very different kinds of studies.  For one scholar, the artist’s life consists of an orderly succession of opportunities and achievements, with his or her relationship to the works determined by conscious choices made in response to external events.  For another, perhaps even writing about the same person, every scrap of work reveals the genius of the artist, and obstacles that have been surmounted demonstrate the power of the person’s talent.  Unfinished works may seem more important than finished ones, because they suggest a more immediate access to the creative process.  In a psychoanalytical biography, all of the work is thought to reveal the unconscious, just as dreams do.

The same artist always can be studied from different points of view, but some present the historian with especially dramatic choices.  The life and work of Vincent van Gogh have seemed to many to be especially close, his art an expression of the deepest truths about his innermost self.  Most historians have presented Van Gogh as the quintessential troubled genius, beset by mental illness and constantly undermined by loneliness and financial difficulties.  Individual works are seen as illustrations of the artist’s emotional distress, with space that recedes too rapidly or tilts unexpectedly indicating mental imbalance, while twisted trees and dark foreboding cypresses reveal his melancholy.  Furthermore, because the most famous works look so different from those by his contemporaries, the pictures seem to be without debt to a conventional artistic education or established masters. 54

In Ways of Seeing , John Berger pointed out how profoundly our knowledge of Van Gogh’s death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound influences the way we see his art.  On one page of his book, above a small black-and-white reproduction of Crows over Wheat Fields (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), Berger wrote “This is a landscape of a cornfield with birds flying out of it.  Look at it for a moment.  Then turn the page.”  The reader turns the page to find the same reproduction, but with an italicized, apparently handwritten caption beneath it: “ This is the last picture that Van Gogh painted before he killed himself .”  Then, in a new paragraph, the text continues in the typeface used throughout the book: “It is hard to define exactly how the words have changed the image but undoubtedly they have.  The image now illustrates the sentence.” 55 In fact, the belief that Van Gogh was working on this particular painting when he shot himself has become the basis of almost everyone’s response to it, influencing explanations of the subject as well as the technique.

In her monograph about Van Gogh, Judy Sund tried to understand Crows over Wheat Fields as a work of art rather than as a revelation of inner life.  She built her interpretation on Van Gogh’s own words, taken from the many letters by him that survive.  In early July of 1890, writing about tensions that made him feel as if his life were “threatened at the very root,” he began to paint “vast fields of wheat under troubled skies.”  Sund discussed these pictures:

The artist wrote . . . of painting two ‘big canvases’ in this vein, and it is generally agreed that [ Wheat Field under Clouded Sky (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam) is one of them and] the famed Crows over Wheat Fields is the other.  Often romanticized as Van Gogh’s last painting (which it almost certainly was not), Crows has been read as a virtual suicide note – its blackening sky and flock of dark birds taken for portents of his imminent death.  Though Van Gogh would, in fact, shoot himself in a wheat field at the end of July, he probably had no plan to do so when he painted Crows , a vibrantly hued and lushly textured picture.  Indeed, the artist felt that, despite their sad and lonely tenor, his vistas of wheat under heavy skies were visually expressive of something he had trouble describing verbally:  a sense of ‘the health and fortifying forces I see in the country.’ 

After this linking of the artist’s own words with his painting, Sund considered other letters by Van Gogh to situate the picture in the larger context of his work:

Despite Crows ’s turbulent weather and low-flying birds, [it represents] the spectacle of a mature crop . . ..  Enraptured by the allusive connotations of the rural work cycle, [Van Gogh] . . . took comfort in the glimpses of a grand schema (‘the infinite’) that nature’s cycles afforded. . . .  It is also probable that Van Gogh related the swooping birds . . . to the sinister forces that undermine the efforts of the [Biblical] parable’s sower . . .  Crows would seem to proclaim the defeat of those agents of evil, since birds cannot harm a crop that stands ready to be reaped. 56

In other words, separated from biographical legend and fit to Van Gogh’s own sense of landscape, Crows becomes an affirmation of life in its subject as much as in its composition, colors, and brush strokes.

Artemisia Gentileschi is another artist who offers historians a dramatic choice about how to connect her life to her art.  Gentileschi learned to paint in the studio of her father.  In May of 1612, when Gentileschi was 19, her father sued an assistant named Agostino Tassi for raping his daughter.  Tassi had been hired to teach her perspective and, according to court documents, had raped her in May of the previous year.  After a lengthy trial, during the course of which Gentileschi was tortured to discover whether the allegation was true, Tassi fled from Rome while Gentileschi married someone else and moved to Florence.  She went on to have a successful career as a painter in Italy and England. 57

Mary Garrard wrote a monograph about Gentileschi in which she considered the artist in terms of issues raised by her gender.  She argued that Gentileschi’s major figure paintings of Biblical and Classical heroines should be read, at least in part, as expressions of the personal feelings of the artist.  For example, Gentileschi’s Susannah and the Elders (Collection Graf von Schoenborn, Pommersfelden), which depicts a subject popular among artists at the time, presents:

a reflection, not of the rape itself, but rather of how one young woman felt about her own sexual vulnerability in the year 1610. . . .  Susannah does not express the violence of rape, but the intimidating pressure of the threat of rape.  Artemisia’s response to the rape itself is more probably reflected in her earliest interpretation of the Judith theme, the dark and bloody Judith Slaying Holofernes [(Uffizi, Florence)] . . .  Once we acknowledge, as we must, that Artemisia Gentileschi’s early pictures are vehicles of personal expression to an extraordinary degree, we can trace the progress of her experience, as the victim first of sexual intimidation, and then rape – two phases of a continuous sequence that find their pictorial counterparts in . . . Susannah and . . . Judith respectively. 58

Griselda Pollock argued against Garrard’s interpretation of Gentileschi’s Susannah and the Elders as a form of autobiography:

[Garrard’s] reading of Susannah and the Elders , of the awkwardly twisting, and distressingly exposed body, surmounted by the anguished face in the painting that places us so close to the vulnerability of the naked woman with the men so menacingly near, is true to what we now see.  But how do we understand what we are seeing, historically?

Just as Sund placed Van Gogh’s Crows in the context of the artist’s own words, so Pollock tried to understand what Susannah might have meant to a viewer in Italy in 1610: 

There is an excess in the nude body, in its sharp body-creasing twist, the flung-out hands, the taut neck and the downcast head.  The face of Susannah is also disturbing.  Its expressive tenor is pitched almost too high and its position draws it away from the body, creating distinct registers of representation. . . . These elements of pose, gesture and facial expression, the grammar of historical painting bequeathed by the High Renaissance Academy, endow the female body that is the luminous centre of the painting with an energy, a pathos and a subjectivity that does indeed run counter to the figuration of the female nude on display . . .  That shift in effect is not, I would suggest, the result of Artemisia Gentileschi’s knowing intention or her experience.  The painting might suggest the tentative beginning of a possible grammar, arising out of inexperience as an artist, resulting from difficulties in resolving the integration of elements and of managing space as a narrative device. 59

In Pollock’s view, then, the painting describes a popular subject, depicted by an artist who was not yet able to manipulate all of the pictorial elements needed for a large figural composition.  The awkwardness and twisting of Susannah's body is connected to Gentilischi's life, but by representing a stage in her artistic development, not her personal experience.

The examples of Van Gogh and Gentileschi may seem too extreme to be very revealing for ordinary art historical writing, never mind student papers.  Nonetheless, they demonstrate how assumptions about the relationship between the life of the artist and his or her art can change the way the art is interpreted.  Even a decision as simple as studying only one period in an artist’s career has consequences.  Whether intended or not, it separates some of the work from the rest, and does so using the artist’s life to define the group.  That such choices are made by art historians all the time is unavoidable, but they must be understood as choices.  Objects do not come labeled this way.

• Introduction
• Formal Analysis
• Personal Style
• Period Style
• "Realistic"
• Iconographic Analysis
• Historical Analysis
• Bibliography
• Appendix I: Writing the Paper
• Appendix II: Citation Forms
• Visual Description
• Stylistic Analysis
• Doing the Research
• The First Draft
• The Final Paper
• About the Author

© Marjorie Munsterberg 2008-2009

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Early period: Florence

First milanese period (1482–99).

• Second Florentine period (1500–08)
• Second Milanese period (1508–13)
• Last years (1513–19)
• Last Supper
• Art and science: the notebooks
• The Mona Lisa and other works
• Later painting and drawing
• Architecture
• Science of painting
• Anatomical studies and drawings
• Mechanics and cosmology
• Leonardo as artist-scientist

What is Leonardo da Vinci best known for?

How many leonardo da vinci paintings are there, what was leonardo da vinci’s personality like, what was leonardo da vinci’s family like, who was leonardo apprenticed to.

Leonardo da Vinci

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Leonardo da Vinci was an artist and engineer who is best known for his paintings, notably the Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19) and the Last Supper (1495–98). His drawing of the Vitruvian Man (c. 1490) has also become a cultural icon. Leonardo is sometimes credited as the inventor of the tank, helicopter, parachute, and flying machine, among other vehicles and devices, but later scholarship has disputed such claims. Nonetheless, Leonardo’s notebooks reveal a sharp intellect, and his contributions to art, including methods of representing space, three-dimensional objects, and the human figure, cannot be overstated.

Leonardo da Vinci’s total output in painting is really rather small; there are less than 20 surviving paintings that can be definitely attributed to him, and several of them are unfinished. Two of his most important works—the Battle of Anghiari and the Leda , neither of them completed—have survived only in copies.

Leonardo da Vinci was described as having a gracious but reserved personality and an elegant bearing. He was known to be fastidious in personal care, keeping a beard neat and trim in later age, and to dress in colorful clothing in styles that dismissed current customs. The 16th-century writer Giorgio Vasari indicated that Leonardo cared little for money but was very generous toward his friends and assistants. He had an exceedingly inquisitive mind and made strenuous efforts to become erudite in languages, natural science, mathematics, philosophy, and history, among other subjects. The writings in his notebooks suggest that he may have been a vegetarian, and there is also some speculation that he may have been gay.

Leonardo da Vinci’s parents were unmarried at the time of his birth near a small village named Vinci in Tuscany . His father, Ser Piero, was a Florentine notary and landlord, and his mother, Caterina, was a young peasant woman who shortly thereafter married an artisan. Leonardo grew up on his father’s family’s estate, where he was treated as a “legitimate” son and received the usual elementary education of the day: reading, writing, and arithmetic. Leonardo never married, but he had many close relationships with other artists and intellectuals as well as with his assistants.

When Leonardo was about 15, his father, who enjoyed a high reputation in the Florentine community, apprenticed him to artist Andrea del Verrocchio . In Verrocchio’s renowned workshop Leonardo received multifaceted training that included painting and sculpture as well as the technical-mechanical arts. He also worked in the next-door workshop of artist Antonio del Pollaiuolo , a sculptor, painter, engraver, and goldsmith, who frequently worked with his brother, Piero . In 1472 Leonardo was accepted into the painters’ guild of Florence , but he remained in his teacher’s workshop for five more years, after which time he worked independently in Florence until 1481.

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Leonardo da Vinci (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died May 2, 1519, Cloux [now Clos-Lucé], France) was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. His Last Supper (1495–98) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19) are among the most widely popular and influential paintings of the Renaissance . His notebooks reveal a spirit of scientific inquiry and a mechanical inventiveness that were centuries ahead of their time.

The unique fame that Leonardo enjoyed in his lifetime and that, filtered by historical criticism , has remained undimmed to the present day rests largely on his unlimited desire for knowledge, which guided all his thinking and behaviour. An artist by disposition and endowment, he considered his eyes to be his main avenue to knowledge; to Leonardo, sight was man’s highest sense because it alone conveyed the facts of experience immediately, correctly, and with certainty. Hence, every phenomenon perceived became an object of knowledge, and saper vedere (“knowing how to see”) became the great theme of his studies. He applied his creativity to every realm in which graphic representation is used: he was a painter, sculptor, architect, and engineer. But he went even beyond that. He used his superb intellect, unusual powers of observation, and mastery of the art of drawing to study nature itself, a line of inquiry that allowed his dual pursuits of art and science to flourish.

Life and works

Leonardo’s parents were unmarried at the time of his birth. His father, Ser Piero, was a Florentine notary and landlord, and his mother, Caterina, was a young peasant woman who shortly thereafter married an artisan. Leonardo grew up on his father’s family’s estate, where he was treated as a “legitimate” son and received the usual elementary education of that day: reading, writing , and arithmetic. Leonardo did not seriously study Latin , the key language of traditional learning, until much later, when he acquired a working knowledge of it on his own. He also did not apply himself to higher mathematics —advanced geometry and arithmetic—until he was 30 years old, when he began to study it with diligent tenacity.

Leonardo’s artistic inclinations must have appeared early. When he was about 15, his father, who enjoyed a high reputation in the Florence community , apprenticed him to artist Andrea del Verrocchio . In Verrocchio’s renowned workshop Leonardo received a multifaceted training that included painting and sculpture as well as the technical-mechanical arts. He also worked in the next-door workshop of artist Antonio Pollaiuolo . In 1472 Leonardo was accepted into the painters’ guild of Florence, but he remained in his teacher’s workshop for five more years, after which time he worked independently in Florence until 1481. There are a great many superb extant pen and pencil drawings from this period, including many technical sketches—for example, pumps, military weapons, mechanical apparatus—that offer evidence of Leonardo’s interest in and knowledge of technical matters even at the outset of his career.

In 1482 Leonardo moved to Milan to work in the service of the city’s duke—a surprising step when one realizes that the 30-year-old artist had just received his first substantial commissions from his native city of Florence: the unfinished panel painting Adoration of the Magi for the monastery of San Donato a Scopeto and an altar painting for the St. Bernard Chapel in the Palazzo della Signoria, which was never begun. That he gave up both projects seems to indicate that he had deeper reasons for leaving Florence. It may have been that the rather sophisticated spirit of Neoplatonism prevailing in the Florence of the Medici went against the grain of Leonardo’s experience-oriented mind and that the more strict, academic atmosphere of Milan attracted him. Moreover, he was no doubt enticed by Duke Ludovico Sforza ’s brilliant court and the meaningful projects awaiting him there.

Leonardo spent 17 years in Milan, until Ludovico’s fall from power in 1499. He was listed in the register of the royal household as pictor et ingeniarius ducalis (“painter and engineer of the duke”). Leonardo’s gracious but reserved personality and elegant bearing were well-received in court circles. Highly esteemed, he was constantly kept busy as a painter and sculptor and as a designer of court festivals. He was also frequently consulted as a technical adviser in the fields of architecture , fortifications, and military matters, and he served as a hydraulic and mechanical engineer. As he would throughout his life, Leonardo set boundless goals for himself; if one traces the outlines of his work for this period, or for his life as a whole, one is tempted to call it a grandiose “unfinished symphony.”

As a painter, Leonardo completed six works in the 17 years in Milan. (According to contemporary sources, Leonardo was commissioned to create three more pictures, but these works have since disappeared or were never done.) From about 1483 to 1486, he worked on the altar painting The Virgin of the Rocks , a project that led to 10 years of litigation between the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception , which commissioned it, and Leonardo; for uncertain purposes, this legal dispute led Leonardo to create another version of the work in about 1508. During this first Milanese period he also made one of his most famous works, the monumental wall painting Last Supper (1495–98) in the refectory of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie (for more analysis of this work, see below Last Supper ). Also of note is the decorative ceiling painting (1498) he made for the Sala delle Asse in the Milan Castello Sforzesco .

During this period Leonardo worked on a grandiose sculptural project that seems to have been the real reason he was invited to Milan: a monumental equestrian statue in bronze to be erected in honour of Francesco Sforza , the founder of the Sforza dynasty . Leonardo devoted 12 years—with interruptions—to this task. In 1493 the clay model of the horse was put on public display on the occasion of the marriage of Emperor Maximilian to Bianca Maria Sforza, and preparations were made to cast the colossal figure, which was to be 16 feet (5 metres) high. But, because of the imminent danger of war, the metal, ready to be poured, was used to make cannons instead, causing the project to come to a halt. Ludovico’s fall in 1499 sealed the fate of this abortive undertaking, which was perhaps the grandest concept of a monument in the 15th century. The ensuing war left the clay model a heap of ruins.

As a master artist, Leonardo maintained an extensive workshop in Milan, employing apprentices and students. Among Leonardo’s pupils at this time were Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, Ambrogio de Predis, Bernardino de’ Conti, Francesco Napoletano, Andrea Solari , Marco d’Oggiono, and Salai. The role of most of these associates is unclear, leading to the question of Leonardo’s so-called apocryphal works, on which the master collaborated with his assistants. Scholars have been unable to agree in their attributions of these works.

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Heat-Related Deaths in the US Rose 117 Percent Between 1999 and 2023

Israel used us arms to commit at least 20 likely war crimes since october 7, anti-trans legislation has made a health issue — menstrual products — political, israel’s latest attacks on lebanon mark significant escalation, journalist warns, new biography opens a portal into the life and work of audre lorde.

Audre Lorde may be gone, but her legacy lives on through her students, says author Alexis Pauline Gumbs.

In Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde , Alexis Pauline Gumbs offers an erudite, meticulously researched biography of the legendary Black lesbian feminist poet that simultaneously functions as homage, incantation, critical inquiry, collective exploration and poetic evocation. Gumbs writes that “following Audre’s lead I care more about offering well-researched wonder than I do about closing down possibilities through expertise.”

If Audre Lorde saw her poetry as a “corrective to the dominant narrative of the news,” Gumbs furthers this legacy by refusing to claim ownership of the facts — instead, she opens the text of Lorde’s life and afterlife to wonder. “We need her survival poetics beyond the iconic version of her that had become useful for diversity center walls and grant applications,” Gumbs writes, creating a portrait not just of Lorde but of the worlds that formed her and continue in her name.

This interview centers Audre Lorde’s refusal of hierarchies, and the ongoing legacy of Black, lesbian and feminist resistance. Gumbs talks about resisting the conventional biographical arc to invoke the collective work of memory, and creating a biography that spotlights Audre Lorde’s failures as well as her successes, allowing for a more honest, intimate and wide-ranging exploration.

Mattilda Sycamore: I love how in the book you are still immersed in your research process, you say that you are still searching, and it’s this search that gives the book a momentum, a pulse that feels close to poetry.

Alexis Pauline Gumbs: It’s eternal. My curiosity about Audre Lorde will never end. Maybe it’s because I never got to meet her, or because learning about her always offers me new questions for my own life, but the more I learn about Audre Lorde, the more I wonder. And that’s what I’m hoping happens for the readers of this book. They will certainly learn about Audre Lorde, but I hope they finish the book even more curious about how her life can teach all of us and what she might be saying if she was still living now.

You say that, “This is not a linear biography dragging you from a cradle to a grave.” What does resisting the traditional biographical arc allow you to offer?

Well, I am insisting that the story is not over and it can never end. Audre Lorde is not merely a historical figure; she is a presence. She is a present possibility in our lives. And one of the reasons that her life functions that way is because she didn’t think of her life in linear terms. Though I am very interested in the conditions of her birth and of her death in the midst of a meteor shower she seems to have predicted in her own writing as a teenager, it just cannot contain the aliveness of someone who conjured an “ancestor Audre” to speak to in her own poems. Someone who felt even her cancer cells had subjectivity and destiny. Someone who wrote, “I shall be forever,” and sincerely meant it, but not on an individual scale. Her aliveness persists right now because her aliveness was not about one life. It was about a possible relationship to life itself.

One chapter, “A Litany of Survival,” consists entirely of quotes from Lorde’s students conjuring the experience of being in the room with her — you let their words stand on their own, and you place them in conversation with one another. How does polyvocality relate to survival?

One of the clearest and most sacred ways that Audre Lorde lives today is through her students. Several of those students have become my teachers and so I am a direct witness to how her impact rings through the ways they write and teach and mentor generations. asha bandele was the first of Lorde’s students to mentor me, and then Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, Jewelle Gomez, and [others]. And as I listened to Audre’s poetry students in particular, I realized that they are in fact a poem of her survival.

Some of her students even created a group called The Stations Collective, named after a poem by Audre Lorde, and they went all over New York City reciting their teacher’s poetry after she moved away to St. Croix. This is how insistent they were that her voice must be present in their communities. They, along with her other mentees and loved ones, are the people who made Audre Lorde an intergenerational possibility.

All that is to say, yes, polyvocality is crucial to survival. Because survival is not individual. It is collective. The individual cannot survive. But the collective can. Audre knew the secret to eternal life: Let your voice offer other people their own truer, stronger voice. Those voices were really crucial for me to feature in the book. So in that chapter I just curated their harmonies with each other and got out of the way.

So much of this book is about an ongoing legacy of Black, lesbian and feminist resistance, and you do a great job of showing the specificity of Lorde’s life while never separating her from the worlds she lived in.

It is a difficult task, and it does go against the dominant logic of biography to invite readers into the life of a person who did not see herself as separate from her community or from this planet. It also meant I did not have access to the comfortable delusion of my own separation from Audre Lorde. I can only be as separate from her as I can be from air or from water. And I am hoping that readers experience that, too. That Audre’s vulnerability is not an interesting spectacle, it is our own vulnerability. And Audre’s power is not an unachievable exception, it is our own power. As she said to a cheering crowd of over a thousand people gathered to honor her: “That energy you feel? It doesn’t belong to me. It’s yours. You made it, and you can do whatever you want with it.”

You write that Audre Lorde was the first Black writer with mainstream support who consistently proclaimed her sexuality as central to her identity. To her, lesbianism, Blackness and feminism were intertwined — she refused any hierarchy of oppression or celebration, and I wonder if you could speak to this legacy.

This is so important. Because it means that with her life, with her approach to life, with her insistence that every part of herself and every one of us and all life were interconnected, she offered not just an example of what one life could be, she activated a field of possibility. It’s a completely different condition of being. She lived a generative, erotic, Black insistence on freedom that everyone around her insisted was impossible. But because of her integrity, that life was never again impossible. It was never impossible for me.

There are so many intimate and complicated relationships in this book, but two that really struck me were with Barbara Smith and June Jordan, both Black queer women writers who pushed Lorde to be more outspoken in her work and politics.

For Audre Lorde, relationship was everything. It was her primary school. It was her most rigorous way of learning about herself and of understanding the complexity of political possibility. And she cared about the people in her life deeply and passionately. And remember, this is someone who believed that speaking the truth was a life-or-death necessity. And no one’s truth lines up with someone else’s truth perfectly 100 percent of the time. Not even within one person … but that’s another story.

And so there really were no meaningful relationships in Audre Lorde’s life that did not contain both deep collaboration and also conflict at some point. Because Audre always believed that she had something to learn and maybe even something to teach based on feelings of disappointment or disagreement with people she cared about. And it speaks to her respect for Smith and Jordan and many others because she was not really willing to collaborate with someone who she was not also willing to struggle with. In the best cases, those conflicts were clarifying and led to even deeper collaboration. But not always.

One conflict, between June Jordan and poet Adrienne Rich in 1982, speaks very clearly to our current moment. Rich, who was Jewish, publicly identified as a Zionist after the Israeli government-sponsored Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians during the Lebanese Civil War, and Jordan called her out. Barbara Smith took a more subdued stance that Lorde supported, and Jordan found complicit. You write that you have found no evidence that Lorde and Jordan ever reconciled. I wonder if you could speak to this rupture.

Exactly. This particular rupture feels both tragic and telling to me. It was a lasting break and it also speaks directly to the time we are living in now. Those were the major reasons I felt it was important to write about this particular conflict, even though it was the hardest part for me to write. Mostly because I wish it wasn’t true. Somewhere deep inside I still hope that somehow, in some place that has escaped the archival record and the memories of everyone I interviewed, they did reach back and find each other. Because the reality is that Smith, Jordan and Lorde and even Rich all opposed Israeli imperialism. They all believed in the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination. And so this conflict was really about tone, at the end of the day. And it’s not that nuance doesn’t matter. And certainly, among all these poets, the words we use and identify with matter. But what happens when people committed to the same important urgent accountability, the lives and freedom and self-determination of the Palestinian people, for example, get so caught up in policing each other’s approaches that we lose each other as comrades in achieving our shared goals? I see versions of this happening over social media in our movements right now, and unfortunately, it weakens the impact of our solidarity and dissolves our power. We lose each other. But we need each other. And we need the other versions of ourselves and the other worlds our conflicts could teach us if we stayed engaged.

One of the gifts of this book is how you allow Audre Lorde her full humanity — not just her accomplishments, but her failures. Not just her courage, but her fears. How did this impact you as someone who has dedicated your life to uplifting her work?

I have the benefit of writing and teaching about Audre Lorde at a time in which her legacy is secure. Which means, unlike some of the people who have actually made sure that we would have her necessary voice in our lives, I don’t have to protect her from herself. Her work is strong. It has proven itself already by changing countless lives. No one can take that impact away. And it was important to Lorde that we learn from not only her successes but also her mistakes. Her mistakes were important to her. She journaled about them at length, not to vent, but to study what her self-perceived failures could teach her. I think she wanted to offer us more compassion for ourselves, too. We too can learn from our failures and still be powerful.

The reality is, I am dedicated to sharing the life and work of Audre Lorde because her poetry saves my life, transforms my life, helps me reimagine life daily. I think it can do that for anyone. That’s the depth of the rigor she had with herself. And the reality is I am not a perfect person. The poems of a perfect person would not be relevant to my imperfect life. And no one reading this is perfect. That’s why we need the vulnerable, changing, complex poetry of a vulnerable, changing, complex poet to accompany us in our vulnerable, changing, complex relationship to this poem of being alive together. Now.

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As Kamala Harris Claims Oakland, Berkeley Forgives

The vice president has virtually erased Berkeley, Calif., her hometown, from her campaign biography. The residents of “the People’s Republic” say they get it.

Kamala Harris spent much of her childhood living in a modest, yellow house in Berkeley, Calif. But as she campaigns for president, she calls herself a “daughter of Oakland.” Credit... Jim Wilson/The New York Times

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By Heather Knight and Alexandra Berzon

Heather Knight is the San Francisco bureau chief. Alexandra Berzon is an investigative reporter who was born and raised in Berkeley, Calif.

• Published Aug. 25, 2024 Updated Aug. 26, 2024

Follow the latest updates on the Harris and Trump campaigns .

High above an arena packed with Democratic delegates in Chicago last week, a video introduced the life story of Kamala Harris to the world.

“Behind me is where it all began,” said her childhood friend, Stacey Johnson-Batiste, standing in front of a charming yellow, two-story home where Ms. Harris grew up in a small apartment above a nursery school.

But where was that exactly? The screen simply read “East Bay,” as in the eastern section of the San Francisco Bay Area that sprawls over 1,400 square miles and is home to nearly three million people. Ms. Harris called the area just “the bay” in her speech on Thursday night. Other speakers throughout the week referred to Ms. Harris as hailing from Oakland, the East Bay’s largest city.

The word almost never spoken was the name of Ms. Harris’s actual hometown: Berkeley, Calif.

That little yellow house sits on Bancroft Way in the university city known, fairly or not, for a hippy-dippy vibe where residents gamely embrace the nickname, “People’s Republic of Berkeley.” Ms. Harris’s old neighborhood is now called Poets Corner for its preponderance of streets named for writers such as Chaucer and Byron.

The neighbors, who tend a community garden and circulate a newsletter, have a theory about why Ms. Harris does not shout out her hometown much these days.

“Oh, people would definitely think Berserkeley!” said Anna Natille, who lives near Ms. Harris’s childhood home and was walking her pug, Figgy, past it last week. “We have such a reputation for being on the far left, that we’re all a bunch of communists and socialists.”

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