Joe Brainard

Joe Brainard was born in Salem, Arkansas, in 1942, but shortly thereafter his family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he grew up. From an early age Joe showed artistic talent, winning virtually every art contest he entered. He even designed his mother's dresses. Artistic talent seemed to run in the family. His paternal grandfather wrote poetry, his father drew and painted (until the obligation of supporting a family turned that into a fading dream), and two of Joe's three siblings became artists, aided by private art lessons.