Howard Behrens was born in Chicago in 1933, the son of creative parents with a flair for design and printing. His introduction to painting came in the third grade when he received a watercolor set as a gift, which was soon followed by months of confinement in bed which gave him time to practice.
After high school graduation, Behrens worked as a government clerk and studied art at the University of Maryland. He was then accepted into the medical illustration program at Johns Hopkins University, but suddenly changed his mind and pursued a graduate degree in painting and illustration. His evolution into a distinctive, texturized style came through experimentation and a desire to combine his love for travel, sketching, fine art photography, and painting.
Until his death in 2014, Howard Behrens remained a fixture in the world of art. He was featured in nearly 200 shows in the United States and abroad, and his work hangs in some of the most significant art collections in the world. As an official artist for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Behrens’ painting In Motion was featured at the Winter Games. Numerous celebrities collect Behrens’ works, but despite his incredible popularity, he was most loved for remaining a humble, creatively passionate artist.