Ken Leslie was born in 1952 in Peekskill, New York. Leslie was in his last year at Amherst College (BA, 1975) when he took his first art course—a fact he often cites to encourage “late bloomers.” He went on to study painting at New York’s School of Visual Arts (BFA, 1977) and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. He earned his graduate degree in painting from the University of Pennsylvania (MFA, 1980).

Leslie’s first solo painting exhibition was in 1982, at the Gross-McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia. He has maintained a steady exhibition schedule ever since. He has received numerous honors for his work, including visual artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Vermont Arts Council and the Vermont Community Foundation.

He paints and writes on a variety of themes, including our place in the Universe, a layman’s theory of relativity, the battle between nature and technology, and, most recently, light and dark on and above the Arctic Circle. His books and paintings are in many private and public collections around the world.

Ken Leslie is Professor of Fine Arts at the Visual Arts Center of Northern Vermont University, where he has taught painting and drawing since 1984. His exploration of Time and Space has taken him to several residencies on and above the Arctic Circle, both in winter and summer.

Leslie has lived in northern Vermont since 1984, with his wife, Ruby Leslie—a nationally recognized weaver.