A native of Illinois, George Carlson studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Arizona. He has had solo exhibitions at the Autry Museum of The American West, Denver Art Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Fine Art, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History and the Southwest Museum, Los Angeles.
Internationally his work has been featured at the Hakone Open-Air Museum, Tokyo, Japan; the America Haus Berlin, Germany; the Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia; the Kyoto World Exposition of Historical Cities, Japan; and the Peking Exhibit, Beijing, China.
Carlson is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honors. Most recently he has been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Portrait Society of America and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. He has won the Prix de West Purchase Award twice for sculpture and painting.
Carlson received the Idaho Governor’s Award of Excellence in the Arts and the University of Idaho honored him with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree. He has been profiled in many books and publications as well as a recent book: George Carlson – The American West; and the PBS film series: Profiles in American Art – George Carlson. Carlson’s work is included in some of the most significant public and private collections in America.
