John Nelson Shanks

Place: Rochester

Born: 1937

Death: 2015

Biography:

John Nelson Shanks (December 23, 1937 – August 28, 2015) was an American artist and painter. His best known works include his portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales, first shown at Hirschl & Adler Gallery in New York City, April 24 to June 28, 1996 and the portrait of president Bill Clinton for the National Portrait Gallery. Shanks was born in Rochester, New York. He lived in Wilmington, Delaware, for most of his childhood. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute with Wilbur Niewald and in New York City at the National Academy of Design and Art Students League of New York. Shanks was a realist, attempting to capture the essence of his subjects through acute observation and technical skill. Whether the subject was a person, a still life, or a landscape, Shanks aimed to convey the spirit of his subject. Shanks died of prostate cancer at his home in Andalusia, Pennsylvania, on August 28, 2015, at the age of 77.