Painter, graphic artist, writer, and teacher Albert William Christ-Janer was born in Appleton, Minnesota. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University, and Harvard University. Christ-Janer wrote about American artists Boardman Robinson and John Caleb Bingham, and taught at a variety of institutions, including Stephens College, Cranbrook Academy, Pratt Institute Art School, and the University of Georgia. He was also an artist-in-residence at Tamarind Lithography Workshop in 1972.
An avid printmaker, Christ-Janer developed personal working methods that often involved a good deal of risk and uncertainty. Through his experimentations he created a range of tones and textures that deepen and enliven his abstract forms. Nature was always his starting point, and he once stated, "The earth, sky, and the sea are my sources of information; art is my inspiration."
[This is an excerpt from the interactive companion to the videodisc American Art from the National Gallery of Art.]