Artist’s Bio

Following his initial art studies at Duke Ellington, School of the Arts with Simmie Knox, in Washington, DC, John Anderson Jr. attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied under Robert Foster and learned the fundamentals of painting as well as how to create a strong composition. While earning his B.F.A., he also obtained a minor in Religious Studies, and on completion of his degree, moved to Queens, NY to continue his studies at Pratt Institute of New York. After leaving New York and settling down in Washington, DC area, He began a career in illustration and graphic design. John has won numerous honors and awards from various arts organizations.

While working for various publications, he continued to produce sketches and painting. For the past few years, he has been taking painting classes from Robert Liberace at The Art League School, in Alexandria, VA.John Anderson Jr. has lectured at universities around the nation and is currently a member of the Portrait Society of America. He is also an art director who became the first African American art director of National Geographic magazine in January 2000.

Statement

John Anderson Jr. is a contemporary American painter best known for his life-size praise paintings, which features subjects against a white background.Anderson is a sought after artist and painter because of his commitment to the age old discipline of working from life and creating compelling expressions of the human condition. He has exhibited his painting at various venues locally and abroad.