Biography

Daniel W. Pinkham Born in Los Angeles, California, on January 31, 1952, Daniel W. Pinkham has been a principle force in the resurgence of plein-air painting. He is a poet of the outdoors, and his works often have to do with rest, peace, quietness of spirit, and the spiritual calm in his heart. Pinkham began studying art through private instruction from age nine to age twelve. He attended Art Center College of Design from 1972 to 1974, after which he received a full scholarship to apprentice for five years with Russian-born artist and renowned teacher Sergei Bongart (1919–1985). To further his artistic training, he traveled extensively throughout Europe and Russia, and he opened and operated his own art school from 1980 to 1985. He now travels and paints on location much of the year. During the 1970s, Pinkham founded the Plein-Air Artists of California and also became a founding member of Plein-Air Painters of America. He and his wife, Vicki, are founding members of the Portuguese Bend Artist Colony, which is dedicated to preserving open space and natural habitat. The Colony was awarded the 2010 Conservation Partner Award for their dedication and passion to preserving open space. Pinkham’s works are in the permanent collections of LACMA, the Carnegie Art Museum, and the Autry National Center of the American West. He is a Signature Member of the California Art Club and Oil Painters of America. In 2014 he received the Red Smith Best of Show, Gold Medal, for Stillness, at the National Museum of Wildlife Art’s Western Visions Miniatures and More Show and Sale in Jackson, Wyoming. In 2009 he received the Gold Medal for Best of Show at the California Art Club’s 98th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition and won the Gold Medal, Best of Show award at the 2008 Maynard Dixon Country Invitational. Pinkham was honored by American Artist as a “Master of the Present” for their 2010 workshop and lecture series, and he has been featured in American Artist’s “Masters of Realism” issue, Art of the West, Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art, Western Art & Architecture, and most recently, Western Art Collector. Biography from 2015 Masters of the American West, catalogue.