how to write artist biography

Chris Wilson

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.

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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.

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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Artist Bios 101: Here’s How To Write An Amazing Artist Profile

Wondering what makes an unforgettable artist bio? Follow our how-to guide to learning everything about writing an artist bio that will make people remember you! (160 characters)

Your artist bio is your chance to really grab the interest of potential clients and make them understand what it is about your art that’s different from the rest. It can be a powerful art marketing tool, so you want to make sure you take the time to craft an amazing artist profile that does your incredible artwork justice!

When building online portfolios, many artists (and even brands) overlook the importance of the about-me page . But, no matter what kind of art you make, visitors to your website are highly likely to click it within a little while of landing on your page. Think of your artist bio as your chance to craft the lens that they’ll view your work through.

Don’t have an artist portfolio website just yet? Your About the Artist page will live on your online portfolio, of course, so it’s a good idea to have one up and running before you start crafting that artist profile. Make sure to choose a website builder that lets you easily add custom pages, so that you can add an artist bio page and place it wherever you want in your website’s menu (Hint: you should put it somewhere that’s easy to find, so your visitors don’t have to look for it).

Choose an online portfolio with beautiful website templates that allow you to make easy, fast tweaks to your artist profile whenever you want—no code required! The best website builders will have lots of typography options built right in, so that you can really customize the look of that About the Artist page without having to mess around with importing fonts.

Okay, you have some ideas for how to build your artist bio into your portfolio website, but what makes a really strong artist profile in the first place? What should you include, and what is better left out? Where do you start?

Craft the Perfect Opening Sentence

A short artist bio is usually better than a lengthy one. Check out some short artist bio examples and some longer ones, and notice which tend to stick in your mind more. (Not sure where to find them? Check out the online portfolios of other artists you respect to find some good artist bio examples.) Attention spans are limited online, so if you want to get your point across and make sure your reader goes through your whole artist profile, it’s best to keep things concise. That means every sentence matters.

The opening sentence is important because that’s where the reader gets hooked. This sentence should be able to stand alone, communicating who you are and something unique about the kind of art you make. Check out some successful artist bio samples online; a tried-and-true method is to use the first sentence to state the artist’s name as well as their preferred medium or the style of their art.

Remember, your artist profile is also a chance to improve the SEO ranking of your portfolio website. Consider the kinds of keywords that people who might buy your art would search for. Are you an oil painter ? Then you should use that keyword early in your artist bio, since search engines will rank that higher than if you mention it at the very end of your artist bio.

The same goes for subject matter: if you usually photograph landscapes in a certain region, you should make sure that first sentence includes something like “Pacific Northwest landscape photographer,” which will let your reader know what it is that you do—but will also be SEO-friendly. If you’re confused about where to start with search engine optimization, no worries. Our guide will answer a ton of your questions and help you make your portfolio website super SEO-friendly.

Know Your Audience

Another thing you’ll see across the best artist profile samples is that they’re speaking to a well-defined audience. Think about who you hope will see your website, and who you’re hoping will take the next step and want to work with you or buy your art.

If you’re selling your work directly to consumers on your portfolio website, consider writing an artist bio that the average person who doesn’t have a background in art would be able to understand. You definitely don’t want to alienate people with too much art industry jargon in that artist profile! It’ll fly over their heads and, worst of all, it will make them feel less comfortable buying from you.

Look up some artist profile examples from artists in your field, and try to pick out some descriptive words that you like, that explain your art, and that are understandable to laypeople. A good test to make sure that you’re writing a clearly understandable artist bio is to have a non-artist friend read it over tell you if anything stands out as too technical. You also want to sound like yourself and convey a bit of personality, so try to maintain your own voice as you write.

An exception to this is if your target audience is actually a technical crowd, such as art gallery owners. If your main goal with your portfolio website is to get noticed by galleries , then you can get away with language that would be understood by people in your industry. There’s no one-size-fits-all “meet the artist” template; it’s super important to know your audience and write your artist bio with them in mind.

Describe Your Work

Now that you know what kind of language is appropriate for your artist profile, you can start describing the work that you do. Here you can describe a bit about the style that your artwork fits into, the kinds of techniques you use, and interesting tidbits about your process.

Your goal should be to give the reader the understanding that there’s something unique about you and your work (because there is!). Take a bit of time to really think about what defines and characterizes your art. Again, checking out other artist profile examples is a good way to get the creative juices flowing and come up with some effective vocabulary that you can use yourself.

You should also help the reader understand the message of your work, or what it is that you’re communicating through your chosen medium. This can be really helpful in giving people a framework to understand your art, and can make clicking through your online profile much more enjoyable.

Get Personal

You don’t have to share everything about yourself, but plenty of good artist website examples do share a little bit of personal information about the artist. This info should still serve the main purpose of helping readers understand what is different about your art and what you are trying to convey through it, but it’s always easier to connect to a piece with a little bit of personal information.

For example, if you spent some studying or practicing in a cool art city and that experience impacts your work today, that would be a cool piece of information to share in an artist profile. You definitely don’t need to share all of your hobbies and interests, but anything that helps contextualize your art and your purpose in making it will help people connect to your art in a deeper way.

Provide A Visual

If you look up visual artist bio samples you’ll probably see that many of them include a little visual along with the text. Having a visual reference of one of your pieces on the same page as your artist profile lets readers see your philosophy in practice without having to navigate away to a gallery on your website. Make sure to choose a piece that exemplifies the things you talked about in your bio!

Even the best artist bios need to be revised as you develop in your career. Try to review your About the Artist page regularly—every six months, at a minimum—to make sure that it’s up-to-date. Maybe you’ve snagged some art contest wins or written a stylish new case study for a recent design piece. That’s the kind of info you should definitely keep your artist profile updated with!

While you’re at it, it’s a good idea to update the actual content of your online portfolio as well. Keep your artist bio and the work in your portfolio as fresh as possible—that gives people good reason to keep checking back to stay on top of what you’re up to. (Need some more tips on curating your portfolio? Check out our guide to picking images for your website .)

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Marketing your art business and landing new clients isn’t always easy, but an awesome, informative artist bio can really help your portfolio stand out and make your name stick in people’s minds. Take the time to write a good one!

Looking for more writing tips for artists? How To Write Product Descriptions That Really Sell Write a Better Artist Grant Application in 15 Steps Here’s How to Write An Amazing Instagram Bio in 10 Minutes

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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.

Follow our ‘Gallery’s Guide’ series for more useful tips and strategies to improve your gallery’s online presence and business.

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How to Write an Artist Biography? (BONUS: Artist Biography Examples)

• Last Updated: March 7, 2024

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Are you going blank at the thought of writing an artist bio?

It’s okay! Artist bios are actually not all that complicated to write, there’s not much for you to learn about before you can start doing it.

As for what you do need to know, continue reading below to see some artist biography examples and find out:

What Is an Artist Bio?

1. point of view, 2. keep artist bios short and concise, 3. focus on answering the key questions, step 1. state your name and background, step 2. introduce your artist journey, step 3. talk about your art style, step 4. discuss your personal influences and inspiration, step 5. list your artistic achievements, 1. professional presentation, 2. gallery or exhibition submission, 3. personal or business website, final thoughts:.

Artist bios are short pieces of writing that include the details of an artist’s life and work. It’s written to serve as the connecting bridge between the artist and the rest of the world.

You can put it on your website, social media, art portfolio, resume, etc. so that your audience and other interested parties can get to know you and your art without having to do deep research themselves.

Things You Should Know Before Writing an Artist Bio

Before we move on to the tutorial, let’s talk about some general rules for drafting a good bio agreed upon by most artists:

The point of view most accepted by most people is third-person POV. Third-person POV is best because it looks more formal and is more easily acceptable for others to read.

To say it bluntly, most people think that writing distantly like this makes it sound like others are talking about you. Rather than you bragging or selling yourself directly.

Of course, not everyone writes their artist bios so distantly. There are some artists who still prefer the more intimate first-person POV for their artist bios. Primarily because it always sounds like you’re talking to your audience directly in this way. So it seems more personal.

Although there is no strict rule when it comes to exactly how long an artist bio should be, it’s always best to keep it short and concise — lest visitors lose interest as soon as they see it.

The general rule of thumb for creating the perfect artist bio is to keep it to a single paragraph — two at most! The paragraph can be a bit longer if need be but try not to make it so long that it takes up the whole page.

Note! It makes sense for artist bios to be long on some occasions. But if you take a look at the artist bio in the image below, you can see how easy it is to lose your focus when you see a page with such a large word count. Readers call long bios that take up a whole page like this ‘wall labels’ because there are so many words that it becomes visually distracting.

If you want to write a long artist bio like this, it’s best to preface it with a short and concise sentence or paragraph, like the one shown on Timothy Goodman’s website.

Put it in bold and make the font bigger so that it can stand out! That way, you can grab the reader’s attention at the first line and allow them to sink their teeth in first.

As a plus, this practice of keeping artist bios short is helpful for search engine optimization. At least, it makes it more likely for your art website to show up above other artists on search engines.

Finally, the most important thing about writing the perfect artist bio is to give the reader the information that they want. For exact details, you can take a look at the tutorial written in the next section.

The key thing is to remember that the purpose of creating an artist bio is to introduce yourself and your value as an artist. So, try not to get too side-tracked.

To give you some reference, have a look at Alexander Calder’s artist bio. Alexander Calder is an American sculptor best known for creating the first mobile art in history.

Most people who go to his website are looking for information about this detail. As such, his accomplishments in this area are the focus of his bio. Not only does it mention the fact that his father was also a sculptor, but also that he had created his first sculptures when he was a child.

It even talked about a specific sculpture that he had worked on and emphasized his talent in that area. And it does all of this without overstating anything, which only makes the audience reading the summary more interested in his professional work and style.

How to Write an Artist Bio?

Alright, now that we’ve finished getting to know some of the more important rules, let’s start drafting artist bios ASAP! For this, we’ve prepared an in-depth tutorial:

To start writing a bio, your first sentence should include your name and your background.

As can be seen in the artist bio example below, Sophie Kahn introduced her name in the first sentence and then talked about her modern art career and background — she was born in Melbourn, Australia and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

This part usually only takes up one sentence. The artist bio example above takes up two sentences, which is okay, but it’s still preferable to state this as briefly as possible — like in Samantha Keely Smith’s bio below.

After stating your name and background, you can spare a sentence or two to talk about your artist journey.

How did you get your start? Are you like Michelle Carlos, who slowly developed a love for art after doodling on the walls of her home? What about after? Did you also go to professional art school with your fellow artists to further your career?

These are things that are easy for your audience to relate to. Which makes it the perfect conversation starter. Much better than tossing out academic jargon right off the bat, at least.

What makes you unique as an artist? Or rather, what makes you as an artist important? The purpose of talking about your style in artist bios is to answer these questions.

It allows other artists and art enthusiasts to get to know the real you and maybe get in touch with your artist’s practice.

Next, you can talk about your influences and the source of your inspiration. Influences involve idols that act as spiritual support. Maybe you were influenced by other artist’s practices. Or maybe you’re particularly fond of a certain style used by an artist in history.

You can mention this briefly to let others know what influenced you to create your art.

As for inspiration, you can give some examples like Ashley in the artist bio example below. It’s worth noting things like this in your biography so that other artists can understand where the source of your creativity comes from as an artist.

Next up, it’s finally time to talk about your achievements. These don’t have to be particularly fancy or formal. Try to draft a description of your achievements in simple language. Whether it’s about awards won, exhibitions opened, illustrations sold, etc.

Note, even if you have many achievements to talk about, it’s best to focus on one or two in your bio. You can talk about the rest in a separate artist statement.

For example, for artists who focus on architecture , having their art exhibited at the Venice Biennale is one of their biggest achievements. Making it worth noting over other awards they may have received during their career.

If you really don’t want to limit the information shared, there are many examples of artists who create separate artist statements along with their shorter artist bio so that interested parties can get a more comprehensive view of their work experience and views. Just like the example artist statement shown below, which focuses on the artist’s practice and style:

3 Unique Artist Biography Examples for Different Purposes

Although we’ve taught you how to write a bio, these are just basic standard rules. You have to be open to making some changes based on the requirements of the bio that needs to be written. To illustrate this, have a look at the following list of examples:

The first type of bio that we’ll be talking about is the ‘professional’ type. This is used by artists who want to create an art portfolio where fellow artists and other interested parties can view their art. For this reason, the structure of the bio is often very formal and neat.

Just like the artist bio example above. It has all the key points but focuses more on her works and uses formal language.

If your purpose for writing an introduction is to submit your art to galleries and exhibitions, then the focus should be on successful exhibitions and the style of your work. That way, the reader can quickly verify whether you match the requirements of their show.

Most of the ‘bios’ we’ve shown thus far have been taken from the websites of artists. Different websites have different purposes. Just like Livia’s art business shop shown above.

The ‘About Me’ section is very clean and formal. Whereas Jon’s bio below, written for a personal site, is written in first-person POV — making it more engaging and personal.

Now that you’ve learned the basic rules for writing a good bio, it’s time to start working! Best if you could get it up on your site ASAP.

(BTW! If you haven’t started looking for website builders yet, you can check out the Wix website builder or read this article for other relevant recommendations.)

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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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Tips on How to Write an Engaging Artist Bio

Whether for galleries, exhibitions, or your portfolio website, an artist bio is a valuable asset that introduces your creative career and provides context to curators, viewers, or potential buyers. Besides the artist statement , which uses the first person and reflects the artwork itself, the bio is written in the third person and tells the story of how you evolved as an artist, your accomplishments, credentials, and your creative journey. Together, the statement and bio complement each other and form a complete picture of your work and personality, creating a sense of trust and connectivity with the reader.

To craft a compelling artist bio, we can use techniques and tools from professional wordsmiths. After all, authors and copywriters are experts in selecting words that work.

One go-to resource for every professional selling with words is “The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert” W. Bly. While the author doesn’t specifically detail how to write an artist bio, it offers numerous principles for compelling copywriting that we can apply to the artist bio. Here are some key principles from the book, followed by examples generated with the help of Open AI’s GPT-4 to illustrate.

Know Your Audience

Before you write your bio:

• Consider who will read it. For example, you might want to attract potential buyers if you write it for a specific gallery exhibition. Your artist bio is never set in stone but changes depending on the occasion and the audience.
• Put yourself in their shoes.
• Remember buyers from the past and what they said about your art. Why did it appeal to them?

Engage Immediately

The first two sentences of your bio decide if potential buyers will continue until the end. So, it’s crucial to engage them from the get-go. Start with a hook: Introduce a question or conflict that defines your artistic work. To get a basic idea, here are two rough examples:

• Is it possible for discarded materials to carry hidden stories waiting to be retold? Laura Whitmore believes so. Every forgotten photograph, frayed piece of cloth, or rusted key has a memory of the past within it.
• Do coffee stains become planets or mysterious galaxies in your imagination? For digital illustrator Nina Hayashi, everyday spills and splotches are the start of her cosmic adventures on digital canvas.

Amplify Benefits over Features

One golden copywriter rule is always to translate features into benefits. Benefits speak directly to the emotional needs or desires of the reader. They answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” This emotional resonance is far more persuasive than simply listing features. Let’s take a look at an example to clarify:

Focus on features:

Alice Williams is a professional photographer who specializes in landscape photography. She uses a Canon 5D Mark IV and has been published in National Geographic, Time Magazine, and The Guardian. She’s traveled to over 50 countries to capture her shots.

Focus on benefits:

Alice Williams offers viewers a ticket to unseen corners of our world. Her lens reveals the breathtaking beauty of landscapes that most can only dream of. Published in renowned media outlets like National Geographic, Alice doesn’t just take photos; she crafts stories of nature and culture, making viewers feel as if they’ve traveled to over 50 countries with her.

Use Clear, Simple Language

Especially when falling into the trap of using the so-called International Art English, a lot of text that appears in museum press releases or gallery exhibitions sounds rather pretentious than engaging. Clear and concise language helps you better communicate your ideas and values to connect with your audience.

Artspeak-Example:

In Alexander Smith’s latest oeuvre, there’s an undeniable juxtaposition of postmodern disillusionment with the pre-Raphaelite celebration of nature. The ephemeral quality of his brushwork, combined with a chiaroscuro technique, evokes a dichotomy between the ephemeral and the eternal. 🤯

Simple language:

From the very first brushstroke, Jane Smith transports you directly into the serene countryside or chaotic cityscapes. With each painting, you don’t just see a location – you experience it. Jane doesn’t merely showcase her technique; she delivers a passionate visual journey inspired by her global travels.

Be specific

Specific information and facts are more credible than vague language. By stating numbers and details, you capture the reader’s attention. For example:

“Jane has showcased her work in over 20 international galleries, including the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” is more convincing than “Jane has showcased her art in various galleries.”

Use active tense

Many writing guides and styles, especially in journalism and academic writing, encourage active voice over passive voice, as it benefits the clarity and conciseness of your artist bio. It also fosters a more dynamic rhythm and speaks directly to the reader.

Passive voice:

Born in the coastal town of Riverview, artistic passion was discovered early by Alex Gray. A rich tapestry of marine life and sun-bleached landscapes are portrayed in his artworks.

Active voice:

Born in the coastal town of Riverview, Alex Gray discovered his artistic passion early on. His artworks portray a rich tapestry of marine life and sun-bleached landscapes.

Provide a call to action

Finally, close with a call to action. What do you want your readers to do? Visit your gallery exhibition? Get in touch on social media? Check out your portfolio website? Tell them the next steps. For example:

Experience the world through Aria’s eyes. Visit her latest exhibition, “Whispers in Color,” now at the Genesis Gallery until December 15th.

Artist bio example from start to finish

Engage Immediately: Since her childhood in Barcelona, Aria Mendez has been spellbound by the world around her. Every street corner, every shadow, every forgotten artefact became a canvas for her imagination.

Show Benefits: Her artwork isn’t just to be gazed upon; it’s an invitation. Viewers don’t just see her art—they experience it. It connects, evokes emotion, and provokes thought, turning passive onlookers into engaged participants.

Use Clear, Simple Language: Aria paints. But more than that, she tells stories. With each stroke, a tale unfolds, capturing moments, emotions, and memories.

Offer Specifics: Having showcased in over 40 exhibitions globally, Aria has left her mark from the Tate Modern in London to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her signature style—a blend of realism infused with abstraction—has earned her numerous accolades, including the Prestigious Art Innovator Award in 2022.

Provide a Call to Action: Experience the world through Aria’s eyes. Visit her latest exhibition, “Whispers in Color,” now showing at the Genesis Gallery until December 15th.

This text was created in collaboration with Open AI’s GPT-4.

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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.

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Writing Services for Artists

My specialty is writing Art Reviews and Art Statements / "Praise Quotes" for artists to use for promotion... on their websites, social media profiles, exhibition catalogues, grant submissions, blog posts, press releases, artists’ books and more. My writing for artists has led to increasing their art sales, attracting publicity, gaining … More...

Copyright © 2014 -2024 Renee Phillips Manhattan Arts International 200 East 72 Street, New York, NY 10021 [email protected]

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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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

• How to Write an Effective Artist Bio

Apr 17, 2024 • Knowledge

Information.

This guide will help you write an artist bio that is effectively tailored to Artsy’s layout and audience. Any Artist Bio you add will always display on your profile page, as well as on any works by that artist from your inventory. For information on where the Artist Bio is within CMS, read our Adding an Artist Bio article. Note: We have recently added partner-submitted artist bios to hundreds of artist pages that had no bio previously, providing valuable context to our artist pages to help users. Having artist bios on these pages provides further context and boosts the search rankings for these pages, driving more traffic for galleries. We will use bios submitted by the gallery that has indicated that they represent the artist. When more than one gallery represents an artist, we will use whichever bio our internal processes indicate will drive more sessions to the Artist page. Certain popular artists will continue to have artist bios written by Artsy’s team.  Why Write a Bio? A bio is often the first point of contact for new readers and collectors, and as such it offers you a chance to introduce your artist to collectors and make them want to learn more. Bios also drive search engine optimization: When returning search results, Google and other search engines privilege written content that is “sticky” (i.e. readers spend time on the page and continue browsing), and so providing an engaging bio with well-written prose is a great way to increase discoverability for your artists. These are the three cornerstones—tried, tested, and used today by our writers at Artsy — of the perfect artist bio: The bio should summarize the artist’s practice — including medium(s), themes, techniques, and influences. The bio should open with a first line that encapsulates, as far as possible, what is most significant about the artist and his/her work, rather than opening with biographical tidbits, such as where the artist went to school, grew up, etc. For example: John Chamberlain is best known for his twisting sculptures made from scrap metal and banged up discarded automobile parts and other industrial detritus. Bio guidelines

• Length: 80-140 words
• Preference will be given to original bios that are not published elsewhere.
• Offer an efficient, authoritative overview of the artist including details of their practice, career milestones, key works, relevant biographical details.
• Use accessible, jargon-free language.
• Avoid hyperbole (such as “greatest,” “renowned,” “highly recognizable”) or subjective interpretations of the artist’s work (such as “beautiful,” “striking,” etc).
• Bios are not CVs—do not simply list previous exhibitions or collectors, and do not expect to update the bio every time the artist has a new exhibition.
• Do not include artist quotes or non-evergreen information that will need to be updated later (e.g. auction records, referring to works or exhibitions as “recent,” current gallery representation, noting where the artist currently lives).
• Do not include links to your gallery website or another external site.

Why this length? The profile should be between 80 and 140 words. The ideal bio is ~120 words, though a tightly written 80-word bio is preferable to a longer bio that includes repetition and filler sentences. Audience engagement researchers at museums have found that visitors lose interest in wall labels after 150 words. Our philosophy for artist bios: leave your reader wanting more by limiting your word count to ~120 words (800-1,000 characters). A reader can take away one or two key points, maximum. If you want to provide a more definitive overview of an artist’s practice, consider other channels, such as a press release or a blog post.  Questions to consider when writing about an artist’s practice Physical

• What medium/media does the artist work in?
• What is his or her style like?
• What significant work or series can you talk about that will give a visual description of the above qualities?

Subject matter

• What are common or characteristic themes depicted in the artist’s work? What subjects drive the works or provide underlying themes?

Art-Historical  - For historic or deceased artists, consider:

• Why is this artist important?
• What impact did this artist make on history, or what precedent did this artist set in art-making? What other artists impacted the artist’s practice?
• How did this artist redefine a medium or media?
• Who were the artist’s peers or teachers?
• In what political or technological climate was/is the artist working in, i.e., what historical or political events might have influenced the work?

Popular Culture

• What areas of the arts or popular culture did this artist incorporate into his or her work?
• What other areas of the arts or popular culture did/does this artist engage with, e.g., creating theatrical sets, costumes, music videos, etc.?
• Can any of these above questions be answered in a brief (1-2 sentences) and engaging quotation from the artist?

Read about  The 6 Most Common Mistakes in Artist Bios .

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The Beginning Artist

Artist Statement & Artists Bio Examples

As an artist you normally only have a few seconds to grab the attention of your audience. If there is something slightly off and your art doesn’t captivate someone right away, people are just going to pass along.

Your artist statement and artist bio are the same. You want them to quickly hit on all the important point without losing someone’s attention, similar to an elevator pitch.

Artist Statement Vs. Artists Bio

The artist statement and artist bio are very different. The most important difference is that the artist statement should be about your art, and the artist bio should be about you as a person and artist. The artist statement is written in the first person and the artist bio in the third person.

Things that you can include in your artist statement:

• The current direction of your work
• Why people should look at your art
• How people can interpret your art

Things that you can include in your artist bio:

• Your art style
• The driving force behind your art
• Main achievements
• Teachers you studied with
• Artists and artworks that inspire you

Let’s first go over some artist statements examples and look at the artist biographies afterwards.

Examples of great artist statements

.ugb-e273d12 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-e273d12.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} My subject matter is nature, whether it is a traditional landscape or a bird and flower painting. I use traditional materials, ink and brush on rice paper, to capture movement and life – making the brush dance and the ink sing. Everything is captured in the spontaneous dance and movement of the brush as it meets the rice paper. There is no going back and correcting when painting with ink and rice paper. By Charlene Fuhrman-Schultz

.ugb-6cfd880 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-6cfd880.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} My work investigates technology as a meeting point of concurrent, overlapping systems; a nexus of cultural, computational, biological, and economic forces. In uncovering, augmenting, and creating systems of intertwinement, I am trying to touch a sense of “liveness” or a nearly-living quality, the dynamism resulting from the unpredictable performances of various actants pulling independently in collective balance. Through a variety of media – installation, kinetic sculpture, sound, computational image-making – I employ the visual culture of commercial technologies as a core vocabulary, displacing them into an artistic context. Placing technologies in unconventional and absurd relationships to one another, I aim to create a fissure in their conventional functions, reflecting on their roles as contemporary prosthetics with which we co-exist in a hybrid ecology. My research and creation processes involve a balance of qualitative and quantitative approaches. I am particularly interested in the interplay between the two seemingly polar-opposite, binary viewpoints, and strive towards a cross-pollination in which one feeds and complicates the other, and vice versa. By Adam Basanta

.ugb-b48ad63 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-b48ad63.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} Inflatables have had an important place in my work since 1989. In most of these sculptures and installations I have used industrial fans and simple valve mechanisms to animate sewn forms with lifelike gestures. Most of these works have been made of lightweight and papery fabrics such as Tyvek or nylon spinnaker. The weightlessness of these materials allows them to respond with surprising subtlety to the action of air within and around them. Generally inflatables are an expression of naive optimism. In an art context they signal popular culture, anti-art and irony. I play with and against these expectations. The movement of air within my forms recalls our own sensation of breath—of breathlessness, of holding our breath, etc. My work exists in moments of kinesthesia, when the movement of air within a form causes something to stir within the physical being of the viewer. This response is to more than just the obvious action of inflation and the robust occupation of space. What I feel is even more moving is the recognition of deflation, shrinking, vulnerability, silence and dying. My choice of extremely light and papery materials enhances this sense of absence and transience, of the nearly not there at all. Thus, the awakening comes more in our awareness of the tenuousness and fleeting nature of our existence. My work with the inflatable medium is about moving the viewer from a playful and ironic headspace toward a physical connection to his or her most vital forces. By Max Streicher

.ugb-a6eb3a6 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-a6eb3a6.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} I make art because I want to create life. My sculptures are oil-filled kinetic glass cylinders I call Sea Cores. The name and shape are loosely based on core samples scientist take to study the ocean, but I make no attempt to represent any known sea life. Instead, I invent my own inhabitants for these magical worlds. I choose glass as my medium because it allows me to manipulate the color and transparency of each individual creature. Since Sea Cores are designed to be looked through, rather than simply looked at, the transparent colors blend and form new colors from every vantage point. I focus on the movement of the air bubbles, and the patterns created by the bubbles as they weave through the glass and travel up the core. I plan the placement of each suspended creature in the bubble path to get subtle lifelike movement throughout the sculpture. This allows me to create living environments that generate the same excitement I felt as a child. By Alison Sigethy

How to write an artist statement

An artist statement is normally only a few sentences long. So you will have to convey your art and the intention behind it in a clear and concise way.

Following these steps may help you write your artist statement:

• Take a look at your most recent art pieces.
• Note all the similarities and try to find a general theme.
• Write a short description of your work without worrying about length.
• Go over what you wrote and distil is down to the essentials.
• Let some friends or colleagues critic your artist statement.

Keep in mind that an artist statement should not only be informative, but also interesting and intriguing. If your statement fails to rouse someone’s attention, you will have to go back to the drawing board. Make sure to sprinkle in a few action verbs and powerful adjectives to spice up your writing.

How long should an artist statement be?

As a general rule of thumb for artist statements: the shorter, the better. Your artist statement should be roughly 200 to 300 words long.

Examples of great artist bios

.ugb-e8cf920 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-e8cf920.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} Julie Mehretu’s work is about layers: the physical layering of images, marks, and mediums, and the figurative layering of time, space, place, and history. Working in a large scale, Mehretu draws on the 21st-century city for inspiration, transferring its energy into her gestural sweeps of paint and built-up marks in ink and pencil—often transposed from projections—and condensing seemingly infinite urban narratives, architectural views, and street plans into single unified compositions. “The narratives come together to create this overall picture that you see from the distance,” she says. “As you come close to it […] the big picture completely shatters and there are these numerous small narratives happening.” Mehretu layers a range of influences and art historical references as well, from the dynamism espoused by the  Futurists , to the scale and physicality of  Abstract Expressionism , to the divergent markmaking of  Albrecht Dürer , Eastern calligraphy, and graffiti. Mehretu was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005. By Julie Mehretu

.ugb-abeda64 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-abeda64.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} In her decades-spanning practice, Carol Rama has explored sexuality and desire through different materials and mediums. Self-taught, Rama began painting as a means of dealing with family tragedies. In her early work in the 1930s and 1940s, she created lustful images of the female body, highlighting sexuality and pleasure as major themes. Rama later experimented with abstraction and assemblage in the vein of arte povera, using bicycle tires from her father’s factory before he declared bankruptcy and committed suicide. She returned to making paintings and watercolors in the 1980s. The recipient of the Golden Lion at the 50th Venice Biennale, Rama falls outside the confines of any particular artistic movement or period, but she remains a seminal figure and an important influence to artists such as  Cindy Sherman  and Kiki Smith. By Carol Rama

.ugb-9bd14c2 .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-9bd14c2.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} Los Angeles based photographer, Mallory Morrison, has been honing her skills in underwater photography for the past several years. Originally a dance photographer, Mallory blended her photography skills with her twenty-four years of dance experience, bringing about a perfect marriage of her two passions.   Mallory’s evolution into underwater photography allowed her to introduce another element to this union and extend the range of her talent even further. Her use of dancers in an underwater environment allows Mallory to challenge the boundaries of people photography – utilizing weightlessness to tell stories, which explore the depths of movement and composition. ​ Mallory has sold her fine artwork to collectors across the U.S. as well as Australia, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, and Belgium.  She was included in Saatchi’s Art’s 100 Voices 100 Artists catalog, celebrating their Top Women Artists. By Mallory Morrison

.ugb-d877ffb .ugb-blockquote__quote{width:70px !important;height:70px !important}.ugb-d877ffb.ugb-blockquote > .ugb-inner-block{max-width:90% !important} A pioneer of the Japanese Mono-ha (School of Things) movement, Lee Ufan arranges his installations and sculptures to emphasize the equal relationship between the artwork, the viewer, and the space, a philosophy best illustrated by his “Relatum” series, a series of stretched canvases on the floor, each topped by a single stone. Ufan uses materials including glass, steel, rubber, and stones in shades that are usually subdued and often monochromatic. His paintings exhibit a similar logic, applying muted color on a light, plain background in a style reminiscent of East Asian calligraphy, whereby the brush stroke fades as it ends. By Lee Ufan

How to write an artist bio

When writing an artist bio, it can be tempting to include your entire life story. But you won’t be doing yourself any favors.

Just like the artist statement, you want your bio to be short and concise. So include all the important moments that shaped your artistic career, but don’t mention irrelevant details such as your high school.

The following tips might help you write an artist bio:

• Include your art mediums, art style, and techniques.
• Mention your education and teachers.
• Highlight your awards or achievements.
• Explain what you want to achieve with your art.
• Keep it short (<300 words).
• Find someone to proofread your bio.

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How to Write a Good & Effective Artist Biography

An artist bio, when written and created correctly will provide the reader with a greater understanding as to the artist's art, the artist’s motivation for creating their art and finally it will provide a guide or a means for a viewer to interpret the artist’s art. In these terms, the importance of an artist’s bio cannot be stressed enough!

What should be included in an effective artist’s bio?

1. Anyone or anything that has influenced the artist’s artworks.

2. Any education or training in the field of art.

3. Any related experience in the field of art.

4. A summary of the artist’s artistic philosophy.

5. Any artistic insights or techniques that are employed by the artist.

6. A short description of what the artist would like to accomplish with their art.

The following are some helpful hints on how an artist can create an interesting bio;

1. Keep the biography structure short, concise and to the point. A rambling disjointed bio will only confuse or lose the reader altogether. Always write the bio in the third person (as if someone other than the artist is writing the bio).

2. Try to write the bio differently 2 or 3 times and then have someone with good writing and communication skills proof the various bios and help you to pull them together into one great bio (there will be different aspects of each bio that are written better than the others).

3. Get an artist(s) who you respect and admire to read your final version and make any suggestions to help improve the final bio. Does this bio reflect you as a person, as an artist and does it accurately describe your art?

4. Finally, after any changes are made as described above, have someone who is an expert in spelling, grammar and sentence structure review and make any necessary changes to the bio.

Keep your bio up to date with any new work, influences and experience that may have changed you, your art and your artistic perspective. Make sure that you have an appropriate and up to date image of yourself that is included with your bio. Also, update the bio on any other websites and art forums where you post and show your artwork as well.

An effective artist’s bio will not sell any art for an artist but it is the type of information that an artist should have in order to provide to any interested person (buyer, gallery, art rep etc.).  Also, this is necessary information that an artist should have, as it will be required during the overall sales process.

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How to write an artist bio with examples

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Whether you’re a visual artist, writer, or musician, a quick and compelling summary of your career is essential for introducing the world to your work. You’ll need a short bio that sums up your career for grant applications, posts about gallery openings, the back cover of your novel, and, of course, your website. 

As a creative person, no project seems cut-and-dry, not even writing a bio. You’re probably already thinking about the unique spin you’ll put on it. But before stressing yourself out writing a bio that’s got as much flourish as your novel, know there’s an industry standard.

We’ll explain how to stick to the script and provide some artist bio examples to point you in the right direction. When the editor featuring your work in their ‘zine writes asks for a bio to accompany the publication, you’ll be glad you got this task out of the way. 

What is an artist biography?

If your portfolio or CV is the long-form summary of your career, an artist bio is the elevator pitch. 

This blurb shouldn’t be more than a few lines, short enough that someone introducing you at a conference could read it quickly. Brevity will also make it easy to fit your bio on applications or in a magazine’s “about the authors” section.

The perfect artist bio should: 

• Include your name in the first sentence
• Be written in the third person 
• Include career highlights (awards, publications, degrees, etc.) 
• Describe any relevant facts about your career (such as boards you sit on or organizations you’ve founded) 
• Include the link to your website 

Keep in mind that a bio is different from an artist statement, which is generally longer, written in the first person and explains why you create the work you do. 

3 short artist bio examples to use as inspiration

We said there’s an industry standard for artist bios, and we’ll demonstrate what we mean with the following examples. Even though these three mockups describe very different career paths, you’ll find that each artist’s bio follows a similar format: 

• Kate Lee is the author of three poetry chapbooks and a short-story collection. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker and The Atlantic , and one of her poems was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She’s the recipient of two grants and a writer’s residency. You can learn more about her work at the following link: [Kate’s Linktree URL ]. 
• Alejandro Ruiz is a self-taught photographer and collagist based in New York City. They have had three solo shows in the last year, the most recent of which received a write-up from Art Forum. Alejandro is the founder of a non-profit organization that runs free art workshops for children, and they sit on the selection committee for a prestigious art award. Learn more at [Alejandro’s Linktree URL ].
• Fran Wright writes and directs short films. She graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Film Studies and has gone on to produce 15 short films, the most recent of which was showcased at the Sundance Film Festival. She is currently working on a feature-length documentary about climate change. Follow Fran’s career at [Fran’s Linktree URL ].

Why an artist’s “about me” is so important

After reading the examples above, you’ll see that writing an artist bio shouldn’t be too intimidating. The most challenging part is narrowing down your accomplishments to just a few. Although you may be able to write a bio in just a few minutes, take your time to get it right. The value of this blurb will pay out for years to come. Here’s how: 

• Your bio gives you credibility: When you list your accolades, degrees, and publications, the reader gets a better idea of the seriousness of your career. In a bio, name-dropping isn’t just recommended – it’s encouraged.
• You become searchable: Not only can readers learn more about your work at the link you provide in your bio, but they can also look up the awards, publications, shows, etc., that you list. If the galleries and magazines you’ve been featured in host your pieces online, the reader can get an even broader view of your work. When your bio starts circulating online, you also become more organically visible. Search engines will pick up on keywords like “New York” and “muralist” in the text, and your site will be included in the search results for these terms, making it easy for a new fan or patron to stumble upon your page. 
• You get to tell your story: While having a bio template you can use on every application and publication is smart, remember that you can also tweak this text for different opportunities. Perhaps you want to highlight your work in translation for a bilingual writing contest or the time you spent as a critic for a position at a fine art gallery.  

Creating your online identity

So you’ve gathered the energy to tick writing your bio off your to-do list, and now you’re on a roll. Don’t stop there. Here’s how to create an entire online identity that supports your career : 

• Make a website: Whether you’re a painter, writer, or underwater basket weaver, you should have a professional website. Hosting your CV, portfolio, press, and publications in one place makes it easy for people to explore ( and even buy ) your work, review images and texts, and contact you. 
• Get on social media: Shamelessly post about your career. Your gallery or press might do some of the work for you, but artists often have to advocate for themselves and their colleagues. Create an artist’s Instagram profile , Facebook page, and Twitter account to show followers what you’re working on. Give them a peek into your process, and be sure to announce upcoming events and publications. Write an even shorter description of your career for your social media bios , and remember to include a link to your website. If you want to include multiple URLs, get a Linktree , which can branch out to several locations on social media and the web.
• Go live: Use Facebook Live, Twitch, and other streaming platforms to host live content such as readings, gallery openings, or film premieres. Not all your fans can attend every event, but live streaming can make your supporters feel closer to your work. And don’t just stream in-person events – create virtual ones too. Online readings or studio tours help to build community and generate hype around your work.

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Writing An Artist Biography

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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:

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.

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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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!

How to write a biography without biographical information

O n the first page of Sarah Ruden’s biography of Vergil, she states the problem that any biographer of the ancient poet and author of the Aeneid faces: We know almost nothing about him. “The man is like Shakespeare ,” she writes. “He disappeared into his writing.”

So, why write a biography of him, and how might one go about it if one did? The answer to the first question might be money. That was certainly Stephen Greenblatt’s motivation in writing a highly publicized biography of Shakespeare nearly 20 years ago. Greenblatt got a six-figure advance for Will in the World , which sold 150,000 copies on the first day of publication and was on the New York Times’s bestseller list for nine weeks. But only Shakespeare is Shakespeare, of course, and no other author, living or dead, comes close to generating the amount of interest he does.

KEEPING THE NOVEL ALIVE BY READING, AND ARGUING, WELL

Ruden in her preface stated that she decided to write a biography of Vergil largely out of curiosity. She is the author of an acclaimed translation of the Aeneid , and she became increasingly intrigued, she writes, as she worked on the translation by how a “mere life” could “produce such beauty”: “After much hesitation, I set off on a quest to know Vergil the man better through what probably follows from such things as his physical, social, and literary contexts and his own literary innovations.”

Thus, we have the answer to the second question. How to go about writing a biography of someone who left behind no memoir, no collection of letters, and whose entire biographical record consists of a few pages in Suetonius Tranquillus's On Illustrious Men ? Use historical contexts to speculate as to what he might have thought or could have done. Call it the Might-Have-Could-Have approach to biography.

The risk of such an approach is obvious. The subject of the biography becomes a mere object of our own projections. What we get is not Vergil himself, but the proto-fascist Vergil or the anti-imperialist Vergil, the proto-Christian Vergil or the gay Vergil. I am reminded of Daniel Mendelsohn’s article in the New Yorker a few years ago in which he presented Vergil as something of a tragic, bleeding-heart liberal, whose sympathies are on the side of the victims whom "‘empire’ leaves in its wake” but who was pressed into the service of empire nonetheless.

Ruden is aware of this risk. “We need to make our own peace with our own histories,” she writes, “and leave Vergil out of them.” She proposes to avoid it by sticking closely to what Vergil wrote and extrapolating only those biographical tidbits that seem plausible. H. L. Mencken may have been right when he wrote that criticism “is no more than prejudice made plausible.” But a biography that is no more than prejudice made plausible is no biography at all.

Problematically, Ruden proposes to compare Vergil to his modern “descendants” — that is, to modern writers — to gain insight into his life. She argues that because writers are categorically different from other people, it makes sense that Vergil might have more in common with other writers, even those who lived 2,000 years after he died, than he did with the people of his own time. After all, wasn’t Vergil, like so many modern writers, an eccentric who lived an unconventional life marked by an unwavering commitment to art? “Many things about Vergil’s life made more sense to me,” she writes, “once I dared to grasp that this shy young man from nowhere, who struggled from line to line as he composed and revised, sensed in some part of his mind that if he tried hard enough he could cause the world to welcome millions of copies of his work.” She goes on to compare him to Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf, among others.

Alas, rather than getting us closer to the “real Vergil,” Ruden’s biography simply gives another Vergil — Vergil the brooding, sensitive modern writer who sacrifices everything for his art. This leads to problems.

One thing we know about Vergil from Suetonius is that he was frequently ill and rarely “appeared in public in Rome.” We're told this was because his fame made it difficult for him to move about freely in the capital. Ruden claims (and I think she is right) that he also avoided going to Rome because he was shy and committed to his work. But she suggests that he may have even faked illness to avoid social contact and was something of a misanthrope. “I am convinced,” she writes, “that his characters tend to fall short in differentiation and believable thoughts and feelings because he did not like other people much or find their minds reliably interesting compared with his own.” Her further evidence of this misanthropy is that he wrote a lot about nature.

She wants to see Vergil as a modern artist who eschews authority and “civic and professional duty,” but she is at pains to explain how he could be one while also writing an epic poem whose primary purpose was to celebrate the Roman empire. This leads her to make muddled statements like this:

The poet’s quasi-propagandistic work remains worth reading now that all its ideological and cultural assertions but the most universal have been discredited, at least in liberal democratic nations. Modern ethics reject unquestioning religious, filial, and patriotic 'duty,' and most especially the divinely decreed 'fate' of one race to conquer and rule others. But the Aeneid is still running on its literary steam.

This divorce of content and form forces Ruden to identify Vergil’s literary accomplishment with something like verbal decoration. Ruden means it as a compliment when she writes that “Vergil was the only poet” who could “relieve and decorate” the “necessary heavy-handedness” of a “full-length epic poem about the ruling dynasty’s purported ancient foundations.” But this diminishes, rather than heightens, Vergil’s accomplishment. Immediately after this, she admits that Vergil and Augustus likely did not disagree on the work’s “major themes.” So why divorce those themes from style and prosody in the first place?

Even more problematically, Ruden suggests that several of the poems of the Appendix Vergiliana , a supposed collection of Vergil’s juvenilia that many scholars dispute, were indeed written by Vergil because it is implausible that he would not leave a record of his development. Why? Because Vergil was more of a modern poet than an ancient one. “If Vergil was, as he appears to have been,” Ruden writes, “a modern type of conspicuously isolated author with an independent, obsessive drive to perfect certain literary forms, rather than the typical ancient author who wrote for public occasions and communal edification, then a large archive makes sense.” Talk about begging the question.

Ruden even wonders whether Vergil became so obsessed with perfecting the Aeneid that Augustus became paranoid and killed him. Vergil died of heatstroke in Athens, which doesn’t make much sense according to Ruden. “If the Romans knew anything, it was how to deal with hot climates," she continues. "Did Augustus, alive to the difficulties of either controlling or sidelining the popular, well-liked author who had written the great national poem but then fled the nation, turn his mind to the advantages of Vergil’s bad health worsening to a lethal degree? ... Was treatment of Vergil’s condition withheld? Or was sunstroke a cover story for something else? Was there something in Vergil’s refreshments?”

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She quickly adds that this is all “speculative reconstruction.” A better phrase for it is “pure speculation.” The only thing she insists on is that the ancient account of his death doesn’t make sense.

Fine. But why not leave it at that? Because word counts must be met, I suppose, for book contracts to be kept.

Micah Mattix is a professor of English at Regent University.

Tags: Books , Book Reviews , Media , Literature , History , Roman Empire

Original Author: Micah Mattix

Original Location: How to write a biography without biographical information

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Paul Auster obituary

Author of The New York Trilogy who conjured up a world of wonder and happenstance, miracle and catastrophe

The American writer Paul Auster , who has died aged 77 from complications of lung cancer, once described the novel as “the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy”. His own 18 works of fiction, along with a shelf of poems, translations, memoirs, essays and screenplays written over 50 years, often evoke eerie states of solitude and isolation. Yet they won him not just admirers but distant friends who felt that his peculiar domain of chance and mystery, wonder and happenstance, spoke to them alone. Frequently bizarre or uncanny, the world of Auster’s work aimed to present “things as they really happen, not as they’re supposed to happen”.

To the readers who loved it, his writing felt not like avant-garde experimentalism but truth-telling with a mesmerising force. He liked to quote the philosopher Pascal, who said that “it is not possible to have a reasonable belief against miracles”. Auster restored the realm of miracles – and its flip-side of fateful catastrophe – to American literature. Meanwhile, the “postmodern” sorcerer who conjured alternate or multiple selves in chiselled prose led (aptly enough) a double life as sociable pillar of the New York literary scene, a warm raconteur whose agile wit belied the brooding raptor-like image of his photoshoots. For four decades he lived in Brooklyn with his second wife, the writer Siri Hustvedt.

The fortune that drives his stories played a part in his own career. City of Glass (1985), the philosophical mystery that launched his New York Trilogy and his ascent to fame, appeared from a small imprint after 17 rejections. Though the novel helped build his misleading reputation as a cool cult author, a moody Parisian existentialist marooned in noir New York, it had a pseudonymous forerunner that shows another Auster face.

Squeeze Play, published under the pen-name “Paul Benjamin” in 1982, is a baseball-based crime caper. Its disconsolate gumshoe, Max Klein, muses that “I had come to the limit of myself, and there was nothing left.” If that plight sounds typically Auster-ish, then even more so was the baseball setting. Auster adored the sport and played it well: “I had quick reflexes and a strong arm – but my throws were often wild.” In a much-repeated tale, he failed aged eight to get an autograph from his idol Willie Mays, of the New York Giants, because he had not brought a pencil. Auster “cried all the way home”.

Auster’s work is more deeply embedded in the mid-century national culture that fuelled the novels of his elders, such as Philip Roth and John Updike , than some advocates appreciated. His fables of identity-loss and alienation have emotional roots in the mean, lonely city streets he knew when young. He once insisted, to fans and scoffers who labelled him an esoteric “French” or European coterie author, that “all of my books have been about America”.

He was born in Newark, New Jersey (also Roth’s hometown). His parents, Queenie (nee Bogat) and Samuel Auster, children of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe, set him on a classic American path of upward mobility through education while remaining, to their son, opaque. The Invention of Solitude (1982) was Auster’s haunting attempt to imagine the life of his impenetrable father. Ghostly fathers would pervade his work. As would sudden calamity. When, aged 14, he witnessed a fellow summer-camper struck dead by lightning, the event became a paradigm for the savage contingency of life, “the bewildering instability of things”. His later novel 4321 (2017), which revisits this formative trauma, cites the composer John Cage: “The world is teeming: anything can happen.” In Auster’s work, it does.

At Columbia University in New York, he studied literature, and took part in the student protests of 1968, before moving to Paris to scrape a living as a translator of French poetry (a surrealist anthology was his first published work). He lived – literally in a garret – with the writer Lydia Davis, and returned in 1974 with nine dollars to his name. Back in New York, they married, but were divorced in 1978, a year after the birth of their son, Daniel. Poetry collections followed, but Auster’s thwarted efforts to secure a decent livelihood meant that he gave his ruefully funny 1997 memoir Hand to Mouth the subtitle “a chronicle of early failure”.

In 1982, he married the novelist and essayist Hustvedt (who recalled their courtship as “a really fast bit of business”). She became his first reader and trusted guide; they had a daughter, Sophie. Husband and wife would work during the day on different floors of their Park Slope brownstone, and watch classic movies together in the evening. Auster wrote first in longhand, then edited on his cherished Olympia typewriter.

The New York Trilogy (Ghosts and The Locked Room followed a year after City of Glass) made his stock soar, and attracted both celebrity and opportunity.

Auster wrote gnomic screenplays for arthouse films (Smoke, Blue in the Face, both 1995), even directed one (The Inner Life of Martin Frost, 2007). But it was the enigmatic, hallucinatory aura of his fiction – in 1990s novels such as The Music of Chance, Leviathan and Mr Vertigo – that defined his sensibility. Sometimes this trademark style could veer into whimsy or self-parody (as in Timbuktu, 1999, with its canine hero) although stronger novels – such as The Brooklyn Follies (2005) – always pay heed to the pulse, and voice, of contemporary America. Keenly engaged in current affairs, Auster held office in the writers’ body PEN, deplored the rise of Donald Trump, and spoke of his country’s core schism between ruthless individualism and “people who believe we’re responsible for one another”.

Auster the exacting aesthete was also a yarn-hungry storyteller. If he edited a centenary edition of Samuel Beckett – a literary touchstone, along with Hawthorne, Proust, Kafka and Joyce – he also compiled a selection of unlikely true tales submitted by National Public Radio listeners. They revealed the strange “unknowable forces” at work in everyday life. In his epic novel 4321, the formal spellbinder and social chronicler meet. It sends a boy born in New Jersey in 1947 down four separate paths in life: an Auster encyclopedia, ingenious but heartfelt too. Bulk and heart also characterised his mammoth 2021 biography of the Newark-born literary prodigy Stephen Crane, Burning Boy .

The ferocity of fate that scars his work gouged wounds into Auster’s life as well. Daniel succumbed to addiction, accidentally killed his infant daughter with drugs, and died of an overdose in 2022. Auster’s cancer diagnosis came in 2023. Prolific and versatile as ever, in that year he still published both an impassioned essay on America’s firearms fixation ( Bloodbath Nation ) and his farewell novel, Baumgartner . Its narrative hi-jinks dance smartly over a bass chord of grief.

Auster populated a literary planet all his own, where the strange music, and magic, of chance and contingency coexist with love, dream and wonder. In Burning Boy, he wonders why Crane’s output now goes largely unread, although “the prose still crackles, the eye still cuts, the work still stings”. After 34 books, so does his own.

Auster is survived by his wife and daughter, and a grandson, and by his sister, Janet.

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