John Alexander American, b. 1945

John Alexander (b. 1945, Beaumont, TX) received his B.F.A. from Lamar University in Beaumont in 1968 and his M.F.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1970. Following graduate school, Alexander taught at the University of Houston and today divides his time between his SoHo studio loft and his home in Amagansett, East Hampton. As an undergraduate majoring in applied arts at Lamar, Alexander was influenced by professor and friend Jerry Newman, whose courses emphasized academic training in drawing, painting, and art history. A skilled draftsman himself, Newman encouraged his students to develop a firm foundation in still-life drawing and to copy sketches by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci—rigorous formal training that is still evident in Alexander’s work.

Growing up with camping and fishing trips in the bayous and woods of East Texas, Alexander developed a deep connection to the natural world. His lush paintings, populated with diverse flora and fauna, reflect both his reverence for the tradition of landscape painting—as practiced by Monet and the Hudson River School painters—and his father’s influence as an avid environmentalist attuned to the damage caused by industry and pollution. While his subject matter may appear bucolic, the energy of his brushwork, symbolic imagery, and psychological undertones convey a complex vision. Exoticism and beauty are balanced with an introspective awareness, creating vivid, idiosyncratic expressions of an artist for whom everything in nature holds meaning. His work has been widely exhibited across leading American museums and international galleries.