Long ago I decided not to confine myself to any particular artistic approach or aesthetic philosophy. Picasso's attitude toward creativity probably influenced me as much as that of any artist. He saw his art as an ongoing investigation, and was always ready to either analyze a single topic with endless variations or, if necessary, to change his approach and subject matter overnight. Despite the variation of my content and style, I have been largely committed to the traditional principles of design and composition. I believe that art history from the Paleolithic age to the present strongly suggests that these visual principles may be physiologically based and are not merely cultural.
—James G. Todd
James G. Todd was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He attended the College of Great Falls and continued his studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago. He received his MFA in Painting and Printmaking from the University of Montana, where he went on to a 30-year career as a Professor of both humanities and art. Todd is a member of the Association Jean Chieze in France, the Wood Engravers Network in the US, and the Royal Society of PainterPrintmakers in the UK. His images appear in numerous publications, including A Radiant Map of the World by Rick Newby and Still Another Day by Pablo Neruda, and his original artworks appear in the permanent collections of numerous museums around the nation and abroad.