Ron Lesser

Born in New York City, Ron Lesser studied at the renowned Pratt Institute. After Pratt he attended the historic Art Students League with the famous teacher Frank J. Reilly. Reilly taught drawing, painting, color theory, and educated Lesser in what he needed to learn most - the fundamental principles behind creating art.  

From 1976 to 1991, Lesser was among the premier illustrators, painting several thousand paperback covers, movie art and advertising illustrations. He has won many awards from The Society of Illustrators for the best paperback covers of the year and awards from the Art Directors Club of New York for his magazine and movie illustrations. A small sample of his movie art includes High Plains Drifter (a Clint Eastwood film), Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (a Sam Peckinpah film), and Papillon.  Lesser has made five movie posters for Clint Eastwood Malpaso Productions.

Ron Lesser's career has been one of versatility and change. Though his work has changed with the times and collectors’ tastes, the one constant has been his singular devotion to realism. In the 1990s, Lesser painted western scenes for galleries in the Southwest. Creating historic images of the American West came natural to him.

In 2002, Lesser received several commissions from museums, corporations and banks to create Civil War paintings. In four short years he was recognized as one of the top military artists in the U.S. His work has graced the covers of the most prestigious Civil War Publications and has been exhibited at the Gettysburg National Park Museum and the National Civil War Museum, in Harrisburg PA. 

Lesser recently completed a commission for The Walt Disney Studios for a new television series titled The Big Sky that is still in production.

We will accept commissions on most any subject for Ron Lesser. As a successful career illustrator, he has done several  thousand commissions for paperback covers, advertisements, and movie posters.