Douglas R. Graves was born in Denver, Colorado. After a year at Los Angeles Co College in California, he continued his studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he later returned to teach illustration and figure drawing. He also taught anatomy and figure drawing at the College of DuPage in Illinois. In 1966 he won a Prix de Paris award. Formerly active in commercial art, Graves served as art director at Clinton E. Frank, Inc., Chicago, and at Foote, Cone & Belding. He has also worked as a book and editorial illustrator. However, the majority of his fine art works consist of commissioned portraits and drawings (including several for Portraits, Inc., in New York) for private collections in the United States and abroad. Graves is also the author of "Drawing Portraits" and "Figure Painting in Oil," both published by Watson-Guptill. He resides in Burr Ridge, Illinois.