"(Anderson's) techniques represent the collective wisdom of generations of artists - artists who've spent their lives learning to see, to understand what they saw, and then inventing ways to describe it in two dimensions...It's a nice gem to find in the middle of a sometimes confusing art world in which the skillful draftsman takes a back seat to the newest fad."
- Editor Michael Ward in The Artist's Magazine
"Very strong work. Skill and passion and intuitiveness combined. Wonderful, subtle...... Inspired."
- Harley Brown (on awarding Anderson Best of Show, Open Market National)
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Anderson is an oil painter who works in many genres – floral, landscape, seascape, figurative and portrait. His paintings have been featured in many of the leading galleries and museums in the country, and they have been awarded top honors in many national competitions including the Oil Painters of America, the Open Market National, and International Artist magazine.
Anderson is the author or co-author of eight books on painting, including his most recent book “Expression by Design – The Art of Kurt Anderson.” His book “Realistic Oil Painting Techniques” was a North Light Books’ selection of the month, and it received the prestigious Minnesota Book Award for instructional writing. Articles about Anderson’s work have appeared in Fine Art Connoisseur, The Artist’s Magazine, International Artist, Australian Artist, and Southwest Art.
Anderson received his primary artistic education with four years in the traditional atelier (or studio system of training) under Minneapolis artist Richard Lack. This makes him part of a master-pupil lineage that can be traced back to 19th century masters such as Jacques Louis David. Anderson received his BA in studio art from the University of Arizona, where he also received a masters degree in accounting.
Anderson is represented in many major collections and galleries. His 20 foot mural "Prairie Sky" is on permanent display at the library of Iowa State University. Anderson's official portrait commissions range from the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court to the president of Iowa State University.
Since 2020 Anderson has been a leasing artist at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, a renowned studio cooperative in Alexandria, Virginia. His studio gallery includes a comprehensive display of his art and and a working space for painting. This allows interaction with visiors as they observe him at work, and to be featured as a demonstration artist during special events at the center.
Anderson also has a very public profile through his involvement in the Oil Painters of America, one of the most prestigious professional arts organizations in the country. He began exhibiting with the OPA in 1999 and his many awards from the OPA include the Grand Prize for the National Studio Wet Paint Competition. This annual contest brings artists together to paint on site and from live models and studio set ups. Anderson especially covets this honor since it demonstrates an artist's abilitiy to paint directly and spontaneously from life while being surrounded by the leading artists in the country who are painting from the same subjects.
In 2010 Anderson was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the Oil Painters of America and became Board President in 2018. He was appointed Executive Director in 2024 serving as the organization's most prominenet public face and helping to lead it in its important role as the foremost advocate organization for representational oil painting.
Anderson lives in Springfield, Virginia with his wife Dale LaFleur and their two children Henry and Ada.