Michael Gnatek

Artist Biography

Michael Gnatek has long been recognized as the premier painter of portrait of art, prints and posters, both of American military and western figures. His range of subject matter is remarkably diverse from strongly confident poses of Patton, Stuart, Lee, Jackson and a young Confederate Standard-Bearer to the quiet tranquility of Sitting Bull, an Indian Sundancer, a solitary mountain man and a demure Crow maiden.

His artistic print history is not extensive because each original requires from four to six months for completion. But the final art, prints and posters are the most accurate portrayal of his title character that an artist's brush will allow.

Gnatek's unfailing attention to historic and geographic accuracy has earned him membership in the prestigious Society of American Historical Artists (SAHA). He was born in Hadley, Massachusetts, studied at Yale University's School of Design and spent his three-year tenure with the U.S. Marine Corps, first as a combat artist and later as a Sunset Parade VIP portraitist in Washington, D.C., where he resides. Besides Southwest Art, his art, prints and posters have been featured in The Artist's Magazine and Contemporary Western Artists by Peggy and Harold Samuels.

Michael Gnatek Art, Prints and Posters Collection