Howard Bradford (1919-2008) was born in Toronto, Canada and moved, at a young age, to Los Angeles, California. Howard Bradford spent his youth raising chickens and growing dahlias. In his 20s, Howard Bradford was inspired to become an artist by his mentor, Elwood Decker. After serving in the Army during World War II, Mr. Bradford took advantage of the opportunity provided by the GI Bill and enrolled in Chouinard Art Institute. While at Chouinard, Mr. Bradford met Dorothy Bowman and they were later married. The two studied together at the Jepson Art Institute and San Francisco Art Institute.
Howard and Dorothy settled in Big Sur and became a part of the thriving art scene in the late 1950s and ’60s. In 1960, Mr. Bradford was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for creative printmaking. He later moved to New York, and established a studio there.
Mr. Bradford was a Lifetime Member of the Carmel Art Association. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the following museums: The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Library of Congress; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; New York Public Library; Crocker Art Gallery; New Britain Museum; Le Bibliotheque National de France; Victoria & Albert Museum, England; Monterey Peninsula Art Museum. He can also be found in Who’s Who in American Art: 1972 and Who’s Who in the West.